Ancient Memories
by trenity170
Summary: When a old friend from Hiei's childhood stops by to help the Spirit Detectives, she gets them mixed up in an ancient war. Rated for sexual innuendo, violence, blood and gore, and some romance. please R&R!
1. The New Trainer

Diclaimer: I do not own any Yu Yu Hakusho characters! But Kinnara/Narue, the Great War, and the rest of the Ancients are mine, and the product of my way overactive imagination!

Tap, tap, tap.

Yuske was bored, and the tapping noise wasn't helping. The noise itself was coming from the young man sitting to his left, Suiichi Minomino. His left foot was hurriedly tapping against the tile floor of Koenma's office, filling the thick silence with the annoying noise.

"Why are we here again?" Kuwabarra suddenly asked as he shifted around uncomfortably, his eyes scanning the room, settling on Koenma, who cleared his throat before replying.

"You are here to meet your new trainer, she should be here any second now," and with that, he returned to the tedious task of filling out the mountains of paperwork that had gathered behind his desk.

As if on cue though, the large doors behind them opened, and a young woman walked briskly through the door, the silence filled with the sound of the heels clicking on the tile. She was tall, but no one got just how tall until she passed by Kuwabarra, and proved that she was even taller. Quickly, she shucked off the pea coat she was wearing, then tucked it under her arm, placing on hand on her hip in an impatient manner. The blouse under the jacket was a pale yellow, almost a cream, and tailored to fit her thin form and hung over the waist of her black slacks. The slacks were made of heavy cotton, with wide legs, falling over the tops of her black leather boots. The heels, while small, were wide and thick, and quite formal considering her dress.

"Koenma, you expect me to train these… weaklings?" she spat the last word out, and it almost seemed to drip contempt.

"HEY!" Yuske cried out, walking over to her defensively.

"HN, these ningens may be weak, but do not lump me in with them…" Hiei muttered, shifting his weight in an annoyed manner.

"Just remember, this is the last favor you call in… alright?" the girl simply told Koenma, and her voice was slightly gentler, though it still sounded somewhat odd. Her voice was sweet sounding, but it had an odd tone, as though electricity was threaded into every word. She quickly turned around, casting a quick glance over at the four spirit detectives, her eyes bright yellow around almost diamond shaped pupils.

Tanned skin and bright eyes were an odd combination, but her hair was the most stunning. Deep black and cut at her chin, it spiked out from her face, framing it and each strand of hair was tipped in blonde, and none could figure out if it was natural or dyed.

"Who are you to say we're weak!" Yuske cried out as he raised his fists, ready to punch the tall young woman, who just looked at his fists in a bored manner.

"Are you thinking of hitting me with those?" she asked calmly, and then sighed, adding in "Well, then, care to say anything before you do?"

"What!" Yuske quickly replied, his anger quickly rising at the girl.

"Because those will be your last words if you lay a fist on me right now," she replied back calmly, smirking at him, and then her eyes rested on Hiei.

"HEY!" Yuske hollered at her as she walked away from him, over to the short young man clad in black.

"Hiei… it's been a while since I've seen you… Ototou-san," she said softly, looking at the small demon with an odd tenderness.

"…" he looked at her, and suddenly, for a moment, recognition stole across his face. But it didn't stop him from leaving the room, walking briskly out of the room, to God knows where.

"Hm? Should have expected that… Good evening, Spirit Detectives, I am you new trainer, you may call me Narue," she nodded her head curtly at the three remaining detectives, ignoring the fact that Yuske was still glaring at her.

"Narue?" Kuwabarra tried out the name, then nodded as though pleased with the sound.

"Yeah," she replied, giving him a look that seemed to say 'didn't I just say that?' "Well, you guys, head to the training room Koenma-san has assembled, I'll meet you there in a half hour, you guys just get ready… and you might want to pray,' she added on an after thought, and only after she was sure that the detectives were gone did she look over at Koenma, suddenly serious, a morbid look on her petite face.

"What was the other reason why you called me down?" she asked quickly, leaning on his desk heavily, bearing down on the toddler sized ruler.

"It's about Aquias," he replied quietly, looking away as though not wanting to meet her eyes.

"So… Aquias is dead…" she whispered, as though afraid to say it aloud.

"Yes, suicide, it's just you and Her…" Koenma added, tender upon an already tense subject.

"Really, now… they're all dead?" she muttered breathlessly, holding back tears in her bright eyes and resting her head on her hands.

"Yes… Narue… are you alright?" the judge of the dead slowly got up, walking over to the young woman, and for once was worried, but she quickly stood, wiping off her eyes and staring off at a dark corner of the room.

"Why wouldn't I be, we all knew it would happen… after Ice… but it still seems unreal. If you'll excuse me… I need to train some of your lackeys, but thank you for keeping me updated…" she replied coldly, pulling on her jacket, and with that, she walked off and out of the office, leaving a rather worried Koenma.

"Just you… and Her…" he muttered to the empty room. "I just hope that She will die off soon…"

Narue sighed as she left the room, letting the large door slam shut behind her. She felt oddly alone as she made her way slowly down the thin hallways to the training room, and as she walked, one arm extended slightly, she let the tips of her thin fingers trail against the wall.

The only sound in the hallway was her heels clicking against the tile, and finally, she reached the large doors to the training room, and the stone was still freshly carved. It was new, and made just to her specifications. But it didn't matter.

She grasped the thick iron rings that protruded from the door and she slowly heaved them open, her knuckles almost glowing white from the strain. And inside lay the spirit detectives (Hiei nowhere to be found). Sitting politely on one of the benches provided was Kurama, his hands resting on the wood planks. Yuske was sprawled out on the edge of the circular platform, whistling lowly some obscure tune, the notes hanging in the chilly air of the room. But Kuwabarra was pacing, back and forth, back and forth.

He'd reach the end of his short journey, and then quickly turn on his heel, and head back the other way.

"Hello, Spirit Detectives!" Narue called out as she made her way in, and as she did she seemed to have a certain air of invincibility. Her hands were shoved deep into her pockets, as she tried to no avail to warm them.

"All right, you're the girl who's supposed to train us, so lets start training already! I'm bored," Yuske moaned, rolling off the platform and landing somewhat awkwardly on his feet.

"Aren't you the pushy one, alright, see that wall over there," she pointed over at the far wall, where, bolted to the walls, was various weapons.

"Each of you go over there, and pick out a sphere, and we'll start from there, and for the record, I know you guys don't fight with spears, so don't even start. Just go over there, and if you don't know how to pick from the different… choose a pretty one I guess," she shrugged, making her way to the wall, and gently unhooking her own spear, a long slender one, and on the ends of the ties were small bells that jingled cheerfully in the gloomy room.

Slowly, the spirit detectives made their way to the large wall, and choose their weapons, rather recklessly too. With grace (Kurama) or awkwardness (Yuske & Kuwabarra) they made their way to face Narue, who stood plainly in the middle of the large platform, leaning slightly on the spear.

"Alright, now that that's done… this is my head…" she placed a hand on her forehead, "And right below here is my heart," she rested her other hand just above her heart.

"And the reason we need to know this is?" Yuske asked, quickly annoyed, "We're not in Biology!"

"That's not it, I want you to take the pointy end of those spears… and drive it straight into my brain… or heart, you're choice," she replied quickly, grinning at them, as though it was the easiest thing in the world….

Thanks for reading this first chapter, Narue is a fun character to mess with. But she has a long history, and knows Hiei quite well. Have fun, and please review! And the story gets more action packed as it goes on!


	2. Pills and dreams

B-a-a-a-a-ck! Great to see ya'll. Let's get started.

"That isn't too hard now, is it?" she asked innocently, laying her spear on the ground gently, waiting until the bells tapped the ground before dropping it.

"WHAT!" Kuwabarra and Yuske cried out, nearly dropping their weapons.

"I will stand here, and won't fight back, and all you have to do is aim, got it?" she asked, grinning at them. Even Kurama seemed taken aback by the girl, who still stood as calm as ever.

"But… that… That's suicide!" Kuwabarra cried out, stepping back from the girl.

"Not really, I doubt you could hit the ocean from a beach," Narue replied in a bored manner, picking the dirt out from under her nails.

"Wouldn't you please reconsider this?" Kurama looked at her with pleading emerald eyes.

For a moment, she faltered, the quickly shook her head, as though trying to clear her head out. She then held up her five slender fingers, and it was the first time they noticed she had a small gold band on her middle finger.

"You have five seconds to get ready, and then come at me, and maybe you'll get lucky, got it?" she asked, grinning at them in her own cocky manner.

The three spirit detectives in the room steeled themselves for what was going to happen but it was only Kurama who didn't look fazed. Sweat made Yuske's hands slip around slightly on the rosewood staff of the spear, and Kazuma was furiously trying to figure out what he was going to do.

"Five."

They tensed.

"Four."

Kuwabarra tightened his grip.

"Three."

Tense, Yuske spat off to the side of the rink.

"Two."

Out of habit, Kurama flexed his fingers.

"One… GO!"

And go they did, with surprising speed; it was Yuske who darted forward first, and Kurama who was holding back, going at an easy speed, not wanting to harm the girl.

With all his might, Yuske thrust forward the tip of the spear followed a second later by Kuwabarra, but almost instantly, they could not push the tips any farther.

Clasped between her middle and forefingers, were the tips of the spears, but her eyes were not on them… they were on Kurama, who suddenly pushed forward the spear at her head and instantly it collided. Shocked, she pulled away slightly, but instead of getting a sharp blade in her forehead, all she got was a welt. Kurama had only thrust forward the blunt end of the pole.

"There," he muttered, pulling back the spear and tossing it aside, and his eyes held a look of disappointment. "You should not be willing to give away your life so readily," he murmured, and quickly walked away to the benches.

"Alright," she muttered, pushing the spears of Yuske and Kuwabarra away. "Head in, training starts again tomorrow," and with that she left, walking quickly out the doors.

"Damn."

She was made her way to Koenma's library, a large place lined with books, scrolls, tablets, various things collected over the ages. All on shelves and all gathering dust. Quietly, she made her way to the table, pouring a glass of water out of the crystal pitcher that rested on it. Her forefinger was extended deep into the side of the glass, and she waited until the water gently touched the tip of her finger. The pitcher and glasses were there mainly for people doing research, and Koenma and King Yama (or King Enma, depends on what you call him) did not want people to die of dehydration.

After taking a small sip, she placed it back on the oak table, and rummaged around in the pocket of her slacks until her fingers collided with a small box, which she promptly pulled out, releasing the tiny latch and flipping the top open.

Nestled inside were two dozen tiny brown pills, sugar coated and the color of rust, it was Advil. Mixed in were longer, wider white ones, tipped in green, prescription obviously.

"Didn't think that those ningens would tire you out so quickly," Hiei stated, waking out from behind one of the thick bookshelves.

"I'm not tired," Narue replied crossly, taking out three brown tablets and quickly downing them with the aid of the water.

"Then what's with the pills?" he asked, smirking at her.

"Shut-up," she snapped as she closed the box crossly, shoving the box back into her pocket.

"What other pills do you use, Nee-san?" he asked, making his way ever quiet to her.

"Nothing else… except a few tranquilizers, I have my reasons," Narue replied, annoyed.

"Do you want to be rid of him so badly?"

"…" she looked away, her eyes glazed over slightly as she though back onto her memories.

"Answer me."

"Why must I? Aquias is dead," she replied quickly, making her way out of the library, her fingers still trailing on the sides of the walls.

In all truth, she did want to dream, just not of her memories, of her moments of happiness, of her moments of anguish. She sadly strolled through the hallways, reaching the room Koenma had designated to her, knowing the spirit detectives were next to her, the rooms to her right. Depressed, she opened the door, making her way into the quiet room. It was simple, holding everything she'd need, and shoved in one corner was her trunk, filled with memories and treasures, locked away and collecting dust.

"Is this what you wanted for me?" she whispered to the dark, fingering the gold band on her middle finger, the surface rubbed so many times the tiny etchings were nearly worn off.

The dark did not answer her question, so instead she made her way to the bed, collapsing onto the cheap mattress. Slowly, she closed her eyes, reliving her memories until her alarm woke her…

_It was night. Flickering lights slowly flooded out from various large silk tents, propped up in the middle of the grassy flatland. Silhouetted from the sunset was a mountain range, far into the distance. The moon and stars still flickered in the sky. Pointless, sleepy chattered filled the air, the sound of mugs being clinked, and ever so often someone cried out in cheerful rejoice of a battle won. The only quiet tent was a deep, emerald green one, embroidered in gold was leaves and forest scenes. Inside, sprawled out on a bed was young woman, around sixteen, with jet black hair tipped in a brilliant blonde that caught the hair like gold. Her eyes were closed in thought, her breathing slow and steady, as though she was already sleeping._

"_Kinnara, there you are," a gentle male voice called out, and the speaker slowly walked into the tent, pushing the flap away. He was tall, with long pointed ears, tufted slightly like a cats. Stunning green hair was pulled back at his neck and braided down to reach his lower back, and his brown eyes were filled with a gentle sort of caring look. _

_"Mmm…" the girl moaned softly before speaking, "I'm here, Tetsuo, where else would I be?"_

_She rolled over slightly, her hair pooling around her like shadows. The man, Tetsuo, walked over quietly, his bare feet making nary a sound on the thick carpet thrown on the dirt flooring. He wore large legged khaki colored pants of silk, along with long green and gold robes, his chest still bare. _

_"I was worried about you," he replied gently, sitting down next to her. Absent mindedly, he started to stroke her hair lovingly. _

_"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself just fine," she replied, somewhat crossly before giggling slightly as his nimble fingers danced across her back. She wore a dress that was very roman style, with thick onyx clips on the sleeves. The cloth itself was linen, and a deep cream._

_"Why do you do this?" he asked playfully, falling back to lie next to her. _

_"Do what?"_

_"Lay on this bed, just thinking? Do you not get bored of it?"_

_"No, never," she whispered, rolling onto her back, sighing. _

_"Right here, when I'm alone, I feel free. I am not a warrior, the massacre that I took part in seems so very far away, and nobody is there to judge me, say I'm not strong enough, or too strong to be safe. I'm not a demon, I'm just me… silence listens to me better then anyone I've ever met, surely you do not understand?" she asked, rolling over to her side so she could look at the man, who smiled somewhat goofily at her. _

_"Of course I do, my love… but such thoughts are not becoming to you, instead don't worry, it never gets you anywhere," he replied softly, and she sighed deeply as his lips brushed gently against hers. _

_"Now then, go to sleep, we have a battle tomorrow, and I want you rested," he ordered playfully as she sighed, blowing out the last candle in the tent…_

Kurama woke with a start, looking around.

'What an odd dream…' he thought, rubbing his head… just where had he heard of Tetsuo and Kinnara before? He sighed, sitting up and rubbing his messy red hair. Oh well, didn't matter. Another day of training….

there we go! Gets more action packed! And pay attention to the dreams, they become really important.

Trenity170: Alrighty! Now then, let's see. Niana Kuonji says : "Hm, heels going click, fingertips on the wall, bells on her spear...perchance, is she blind? With extraordinary other senses?"

Narue: Me blind? Nah, but my eyesight is terrible! whispers I really need glasses!

Trenity170: Right… my friend AbhorsenSabriel89 says: Sounds great kid! Hope it works for ya, but you once more forgot to... 1) Listen to our phone conversations. 2) Spell Kuwabara's name right. and 3) Check your damn spelling. That's all for now, so be glad. bye!

Kurama: Please don't swear!

Kuwabara: Yeah! Spell my name right!

Trenity170: Ahh! curls into fetal position, holding head I will alright! Stop bugging me!

Kurama: Since the authoress is now crying… please stop…pats Trenity170 on back

Narue: As Kurama was saying… Jazzy Uchiha says "I luv it, update soon,"

Trenity170: Oh! Really? Thanks!

Narue: Thanks for the kind words! glomps nearby person… Hiei

Hiei: Hn. Get this thing off of me.

Trenity170: Alright. Next is HieiFan666 says "Interesting. She really doesn't think the Renkai Tentai are very bright, huh! It's very amusing. I do hope there will be a lot of romance stuff between Narue and Hiei pretty soon. Plz update soon. Ja ne."

Narue: Yuck! Quick reference. I call Hiei Ototou-san. It's Japanese for "Little Brother"

Hiei: Yeah.

Kinnara: I don't entirely believe that the Renkai Tentai are all that dumb… they just don't use their brains very often. 'cept Hiei and Kurama.

Trenity170: KuwabaraMikey17 says "That was a good story it's cool how Hiei knows her!

Hiei: Cool how I know her… right… looks at reader skeptically

Narue: Come on, Ototou-san… you know you love me! hugs Hiei tighter

Kurama: Um… Narue… Hiei's turning blue!

Yuske: Keep holding him! laughing hysterically

Trenity170: Uh… trying to ignore the suffocating Hiei KaraKurama says "That was cool. Update soon." Thanks I'll try to keep the quick updating… um… NARUE! PLEASE DON'T KILL HIEI! rushes over quickly to pull them apart

Kurama: Well… that concludes it… sighs I better make sure Hiei doesn't kill anyone…

End-


	3. Human Punching Bag

Hello, and yet again I'm back. I'm happy to be finally writing this story out! It's a lot of fun to write out Narue, she's just a bit neurotic at times. Well, back onto the story.

It was dark in Narue's room when she finally woke up, her head groggy from the sedatives she had downed before she slept. Lazily she opened her eyes that almost seemed to glow in the dim light and cast them around the small area.

"Ugh…" she groaned as she rested her head in her hands, letting the aftereffects of the pills wear off before finally getting up onto unsure legs. The air that wrapped around her was humid and she could have sworn that she was swimming instead of walking as she pulled off her blouse and adjusted the long undershirt she wore underneath so it wouldn't show when she pulled on a plain, long sleeved shirt and walked off, not bothering to take a shower, she'd do that later.

The heels of her boots clicked against the floor making her realize she had yet to have taken them off.

"Oops," she laughed nervously to herself as she made her way back to the training room…

"Okay, what's with our new trainer?" Kuwabara suddenly burst out, his words echoing in the large, bare training room. Yusuke looked up his cards that were sprawled out on the hard dirt flooring of the arena and shrugged, bored with his game of solitaire.

"How should I know… and why would I care if she's suicidal?" Yusuke asked off handishly, flipping over another card, a three of hearts.

"It's just… Did anyone actually want to hurt her?" Kuwabara asked, lazily looking over at Yuske, Kurama and Hiei.

"Might I remind you that I took no part in that training," Hiei muttered, bored again by Kuwabara's stupidity.

"Shut up!"

"Hey, she wanted me to stab her, so I did," Yuske replied, calmly flipping over an ace of spades and grinned at the plain card.

"I did not want to hurt her. Besides, she probably studied us, she knew I wouldn't," Kurama replied, snapping closed the thick textbook that was lying out in front of him.

"Don't tell me you're studying, its break!" Yuske cried out, exasperated at Kurama's diligence to his studies.

"No, I'm just looking up something," Kurama replied, opening another book.

"What?" Yuske asked, bored and now interested, since he had already played four games and yet to have a victory.

"Old demon history, the legend of the Ancients and the Great War," Kurama replied.

Slowly, Hiei looked over at his old partner in crime, an odd look on his normally emotionless face as he registered what Kurama had just said.

"What's it about?" Kuwabara asked quickly, looking over so fast he nearly rolled off the platform.

"What's what about?" A voice called out and they saw Narue, standing there, gloved hand on hip. She cocked her head playfully at the spirit detectives and grinned.

"Nothing," Kurama mumbled, closing the book and standing up, ready for training.

"This training involves Yuske Urameshi only, so the rest of ya'll can just sit down and relax," Narue called out into the ever chilled room.

"What do you mean?" Yuske asked as his climbed awkwardly onto the platform, followed quickly by Narue, who simply vaulted gracefully onto the thick concrete slabs.

"I want to test you all to see how strong you are, simple. I recommend everyone else watch, you'll have to go through this too. Well…" she looked over at Hiei and sighed, "All of you 'cept Hiei. I've already fought him, so there's no need."

"You've fought Hiei?" Yuske blurted out before quickly shutting up.

"Hn." Hiei darkly made his way to the bench in the room, annoyed, bored, and slightly curious to see how the fight would turn out, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone.

"Yes. Now then, all I want you to do is fight me to the best of your abilities, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah," Yuske shrugged it off as he flexed his fingers, anticipating the fight to come.

Quickly, she held up three fingers and nodded to him and quickly lowered them, counting out the numbers into the chilled room. When the last finger came down Yuske darted forward, his fist flying out with surprising speed. Noticing it last minute Narue dropped to the floor and rolled out the way. Yuske stumbled for a moment as Narue scurried away from him, her knee grazing against the floor of the platform, tearing the soft fabric.

"Damn," Narue muttered as she swiftly stood up.

As she stood, she suddenly felt Yuske's fist collide with her body, sending her flying back. Her hand shot forwards, grasping onto the rough concrete platform and she managed to stop herself from flying out of the ring.

"Gotcha!" Yuske cried out as he ran forward again, ready to give Narue exactly what she wanted.

With surprising speed Narue darted forward, running at Yuske and at last moment placed her hands on his shoulders, using his body as a spring board to flip out his way. As her right hand left his shoulder, stain of blood marred the white fabric.

"Damn! These were my favorite gloves too!" Narue muttered as she looked at her right hand. Three of the fingers were shredded to nothing but scraps of cloth and strings, revealing tiny cuts that laced scarlet across the thin digits.

"Don't tell me you're giving up that easily!" Yuske called to her and she looked up, briskly shaking her head.

"Never!" she cried back, indignant as Yuske ran to her again, this time his fist glowing with spirit energy.

She attempted to move away but didn't succeed, the pain from the blast raced across her chest as she flew into the wall, her back slamming into the thick stone. Spider web cracks issued from her as she slid down the wall, slumping to the ground for a moment before miraculously standing up, wincing slightly but still able to move.

And the fight issued like this for some time. Yuske would dart forward, and ever so often Narue would escape the attack but most of the time she went flying. It was almost inhuman how much pain the girl must have taken, as she never quit or asked him to stop, even though blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth and down her pale skin.

"I can't do it; I can't just keep hittin' you!" Yuske finally cried out, backing away from Narue, who was still standing, though somewhat weakly.

"And why not, I'm not dead," she replied, wiping the blood off her mouth.

"You're not even fighting back! What am I supposed to do? Act like you're some human punchin' bag?"

"If you choose not to fight me, it's your choice," Narue calmly replied, shrugging her shoulders, and then quickly winced as something popped when it shouldn't have.

"I'll fight ya' but you have to fight back! This is nothin' but beating someone to a pulp! Kuwabara gives up a better fight then you!"

"HEY!" Kuwabara indignantly.

"If you don't start fighting back... I'll… I'll…"

"You'll what?" Narue asked, her sarcasm masked the innocent look on her face.

"Fine, I'll start to fight back, if you want me to so badly."

"Alright, that's more like it!" Yuske punching his fist into his palm and grinned at her, charging forward, same as always.

"Predictable," Narue muttered as she caught his fist and then quickly grasped the other, her fingers clutching around his knuckles.

"What are you gonna do know?" Yuske asked, smirking arrogantly at her, getting ready to kick her.

"Wrong move," she whispered and the next thing they all knew, Yuske suddenly pulled away from her, shaking his hands in the chilly air of the room.

"What the hell was that?" Yuske cried out, looking at his hands which were spazzing terrifically for some still unknown reason.

"Electricity," she replied, "Creepy static electricity here in this place, huh?" She replied. "Alright then, trainings over, sound good?"

"What!" Yuske exclaimed as he tried to calm his still twitching fingers down.

"You're hands are shot, and I really don't feel like continuing our fight since you broke my hand… So… see ya'll tomorrow, same time!" she called out as she walked out the door, leaving three out of the four spirit detectives stunned. (Hiei has too much dignity to actually be "stunned")

"Wha… What's her deal!" Yuske demanded angrily as he shook his fist at the door then winced.

"She obviously doesn't want to fight," Kurama replied as he stood up, brushing off some non-existent dirt from his shoulders.

"Then she can't fight! Why is she training us! We should be training her!" Yuske demanded as he cast a look over at Kuwabara who nodded in agreement.

"Hn. Just because she chose not to fight a idiot like you does not mean she can't fight," Hiei added in darkly as he walked out of the training room to God knows where.

Kurama sighed deeply as he watched his small friend walk off and then looked around. A shiver wracked through his body for an instant and an idea struck him.

"It's quite chilly in here, I'm going to go and make some tea, you two want to join me?" he asked, motioning over to Yuske and Kuwabara, who nodded gratefully. And with that they left the training room to head to the kitchen.

"It'll be great to warm up, why does she keep it so cold in there?" Yuske asked as he flung the door open to the kitchen and then took a surprised step back. Sitting at the dining table was Narue, who was blowing the steam off a cup of tea.

"I don't like heat. Tea anyone?" Narue waved her hand over to the general vicinity of the old iron teapot.

"Looks like you read our minds," Kurama replied, cheerfully pouring himself a cup of the oolong tea.

"Nothing of the sort, I just like tea after a good fight," Narue replied, taking another delicate sip.

"Ah… that reminds me, sorry Yuske for not giving you a worthwhile fight," she added, bowing her head respectfully.

"You should be," Yuske retorted as he sat down at the table in a huff.

"Yuske," Kurama chastised as he sat down.

"OUCH!" Kuwabara suddenly cried out as he took a sip of his tea, promptly burning his tongue.

"Oh yeah, the tea's really hot," Narue replied cheerfully as she watched him fan his hands in front of his tongue, trying to cool it down.

"You could've warned me!" He cried out.

"Probably. Hey, Kurama you were studying something when I came in… what was it?" she asked as she looked over at the young red-head.

"Oh… ancient demon history, the 'Great War' and the Ancients," he replied and then promptly took a deep sip of his tea.

"Hm? Why were you studying that?" Yusuke asked, bored and waiting for his tea to cool.

"Just… well, it really nothing," the red head replied softly, taking a delicate sip from the thick ceramic cup.

"Just nothing? Nothing is ever "just nothing'" Narue replied looking up at him with a grin on her face when suddenly Kuruam suddenly passed out…

Trenity170: Alright-y! End to chapter 3!

Kurama: Why did I pass out?

Trenity170: Hm… guess you'll just have to find out in chapter 4!

Kurama: -.-;;… You don't know yet do you?

Trenity170: . … maybe…

Kurama: Just get on with the reader review responses…

Trenity170: My good friend AbhorsenSabriel87 says "sigh you wrote what I said, yet you didn't listen. You are so mean. Hiei: Isn't that the same for you? AS87: Shut up! I listen to people when they review my stuff! Ah well, write more Tren. Remember to put in the music bit in the fourth chappie"

Hiei: Hn. I keep being used in reviews… this has got to be against union regulations… goes off muttering something about his contract"

Trenity170: heheh. What music part? Oro! .! And fine, I'll listen…

Kurama: kristanite says "MsK:dies Narue's clothes and hair purplepaints her room purplegives her purple contacts that do nothing to help your eyesight, a purple contact case and purple glasses Narue: What have you done to me/ MsK: Ya loobloo leelovee! Chy: ME TOO! Shanti and Cristi: We like blue! Narue: is instantly back to normal…eh…eh?"

Narue: WFF?O.o too much purple!

Trenity170: back to sanity… kittyluv says "Pretty cool so far. After that little stunt I don't think Narue will be underestimating Kurama gain. Update soon!"

Narue:rubs welt on head yeah… not underestimating the red headed bishie again! Ow…

Kurama: Heh….;;

Trenity170: Um… Niana Kuonji says "Nice catches, Narue, but it's always that last attack that gets you. Kurama would use his friends to reveal his opponent's patterns, so nice writing on that. Kurama: I wouldn't put them in danger!... why would you need to? The dimwits practically throw themselves into it on a regular basis. Looking forward to next chappie. Now please excuse, I am off to Alternate Universe! sprints off"

Kurama: Heh heh…

Narue: Truly a heartless bishie ain't cha'?

Kurama: I am not!

Trenity170: Stop it… and last of all! This one's from HieiFan666 "Yusuke hon, Yusuke. You kept spelling it Yuske. That's not even possible in the Japanese language. Oh well, I guess it's an easy mistake. Anyway, why was Kurama dreaming of those two people, who are those two people? I'm sure it will all be explained soon enough. Also, is this not going to be a HieiOC, cause not many other fics can keep my attention for very long unless that's what it is. Any other pairings are just...to easy. The HieiOC fics are more developed...most of the time. Anyway, Plz update soon. Ja ne"

Narue: No, this is not a HieiOC fic, but this has a very developed story line with Hiei. You find out about his childhood! Fun! -

Yusuke: Hiei had a childhood! O.O!

Hiei: What did you say baka ningen? starts to pull out sword

Trenity170: As for the people in the dreams, they are very important. Enjoy… HIEI! DON'T KILL YUSUKE!

(the end of chapter 3. See ya in chapter 4)


	4. Kinnara

I am back. What else is there to say?

_His heart racing a young demon reached the edge of a small cliff. He stopped for a moment, his body teetering dangerously on the grassy ledge before his legs gave out and he tumbled down to the ground landing unconscious on the forest floor._

_Off in the distance a girl was walking alone on the small dirt path that threaded through the trees like a brown ribbon, twisting here and there. Her tranquil walk was interrupted by the sound of a body hitting grass. The sudden noise made her start and almost immediately she turned on her heel and raced through the dense forest to find where the noise had come from and to see if anyone was injured. _

_As she reached the small clearing the lay at the base of a low, grassy cliff she stopped, hiding timidly behind a large tree. One long, slim hand rested on the old tree's rough bark and the other was hesitantly reached toward the spear she had slung across her back. _

_Sprawled in the grass was what she first thought was a young human man but as soon as she saw his ears she recognized him a demon. They were long and slightly furry, almost like cats, defiantly not human ears. He was dressed in thick silk robes of emerald and gold. Embroidered into the fine cloth in a pale jade was leaves and ivy. Tied onto his belt was a thick whip that appeared to be made of leather, the handle wrapped in bottle green linen. His hair itself was also green but of almost black hue and the only thing on him that wasn't green or gold was his blood. It was crimson and running onto the grass._

_Apprehensively she stepped into the clearing, leaving the security the old tree had provided. Scarcely making a sound she walked to and reached out a hand and gently touched the blood on his face and almost immediately pulled it back as though bitten by a snake. _

_"He's badly hurt…" she muttered to herself and her voice was odd. It wasn't painful to the ears but it held a sort of power that made every word almost crackle with electricity._

_The girl looked around the forest, searching in vain for anyone to help her but the only thing in that forest were woodland creatures who were not the lest bit cuddly and since she didn't feel like getting rabies she decided that she had to carry him to her home on her own. _

_"Great," she muttered as she hooked her arms with his and dragged him off the ground and with one swift movement she picked him up, throwing the young man over her right shoulder and with that carried him off back to her village._

_The young demon awoke to find himself sprawled out on an old mattress; a rough, faded blue blanket was thrown over his body giving him what little warmth the small hut had to offer. Filtering through the thick slats that were closed over the windows was the red glow of twilight that washed the room in deep crimson. _

_Groaning in pain he pushed himself up until he was sitting upright, his back leaning against the thick wood headboard of the bed. Curious as to where the cursing was coming from he slowly stood up, his body swaying cautiously on unsure legs while his feet almost cried out in protest. _

_It was only until he was at the back door that he realized that his clothing had been removed, well… all except his pants, which he was grateful for. Sighing he pushed open the rough wood door to reveal a thick forest with a softly babbling brook that ran in front of the lush green scene. Kneeling in front in the crystal waters was the young girl and she was bent over the lush silk cloth, feverently rubbing at the crimson stains. _

_"What are you doing?" the young demon asked as he walked closer to her._

_"What does it look like I'm doing? What are you doing up?" the girl snapped at him. Scared slightly by the villager he pulled away slightly, trying to put some distance between him and her. _

_"I was trying to figure out where I had been taken," he replied back calmly, kneeling down next to her. It was only then that he realized just how tall she was. She was still a head above him. _

_The girl sighed, bending over the clothes again. The young man looked over at her. The girl wasn't ugly but like most villagers her face was smudged with dirt and streaked with grime. Her eyes were a stunning yellow, the pupils almost diamond shaped. Long fingers grasped at the cloth and he could see small scars lace over the digits and instantly he knew that she was fighter and his eyes darted warily to the spear that lay next to her. Its handle was of thick oak and the blade was sharp, made of black steel and gold with obsidian on the sharp blade's edge. Wrapped around the neck of the spear's head was red silk ropes and tied at the end were small gold temple bells. _

_"You're a fighter?" he asked curiously, pointing at the spear. _

_"With the war waging around us, one must know how to fight," she replied curtly. She pulled the robes out of the icy water and let her fingers warm up before starting all over again. He could see that her fingers had been scrubbed raw from the effort of trying to clean the cloth. _

_The girl's hair was cut above her ears and was rather rough as though done by one's self with a dull knife. The style was not in fashion, as most ladies that the demon had known had taken a preference to long hair kept in thick rope like braids. Her hair was raven black except for her bangs which were a shocking blonde, the color of gold and held an almost blue luster. Each strand of hair was plastered to her face with sweat and water and the demon guessed she had not lived an easy life. But what caught his eyes most was the fact that her ears were slightly pointed, just at the tips. _

_"You're a demon, aren't you?" he asked. _

_"Yes… that I am," she replied curtly before finally pulling the clothes out of the water, the stains almost gone. _

_"What is a demon doing in a human village?"_

_"I find no reason to flee the humans just because of this war."_

_She swiftly stood and walked to a nearby tree, hanging the soaked cloth on the sturdy branches. The demon looked her over and sighed. Unlike him, her clothing was tattered. Like most village women she wore what was a long skirt though the frayed hem fell just above her ankles. The cloth was rough, hand spun cotton that smarted against her tanned skin rather painfully during summer days. Covering her thin torso was a loose cream tunic and like the skirt it had seen better days. Threads dangled off the cuffs and hem and the outfit itself was unflattering to what could have been a beautiful body, instead she looked shapeless, like the dolls made by villagers to give their children. Her feet were bare albeit the thin strips of cotton that covered the small wounds she got for life without shoes. _

_"Why is your clothing so… tattered?" the man asked gently, trying to stand but realized he was too exhausted._

_"Unlike some people, I have to work to live," she replied back softly turning around to face him. _

_"Ah…" he looked away, ashamed he had said something like that. _

_"Do you have a name?" _

_"A what?" he asked, still dazed from his fall earlier. _

_"A name, you know, what people call you?" she rested her hands on her hips impatiently and her right foot tapped the muddy bank rhythmically._

_"Oh… Why not tell me yours?" he countered swiftly, grinning at her cockily._

_"Cocky aren't you?" her finger were drumming a tattoo onto the handle of her spear when hung in her right hand. _

_"When your skill surpasses your ego you have a right to be cocky," he replied cheerfully, falling back onto the grass, his face blissful. _

_"Since you have no skill, only your ego, I'd say you have no right to be cocky," she bantered back as she walked over to help him up._

_"Touché," he replied, grabbing onto her hand and swung upward, his legs shaking slightly from strain. _

_"Ugh, you're still weak," she muttered as she hooked his arm over her shoulders and let him lean on her and slowly they made their way back to her hut._

_"You're rather strong," the young man noted, laughing slightly at the look on her face that seemed like annoyance mixed with frustration. _

_"I have to be. During the winter I'd freeze if I couldn't carry wood for my fire," she managed to get out from between clenched teeth. Even though she didn't want to admit it but this odd young demon was rather heavy and she was exhausted. _

_With one foot she nudged the back door open to the hut and helped him to get back inside and let him collapse onto the straw mattress. He grimaced slightly as his right foot jarred against the wood foot board of the bed. _

_"You must be hungry though," she added quietly to herself as she moved quietly around the small hut, picking up old bowls and used logs from previous fires. _

_Exhausted, the young man leaned back against the rough sheets and watched her as she prepared the fire. Laboriously she carried the thick, heavy logs from their tidy stack outside to the dirt pit that was a quarter filled with black ash. With a casual snap of her finger a spark jumped from the digits and flew to the wood. The dry logs burst into flames almost instantly, causing the young man to jump back. _

_"So you are a demon?" he muttered to himself, looking away from her for a moment. _

_"Your point? I thought we had just gone over this," she asked defensively as she adjusted the neckline of her tunic around her delicate neck._

_"It's just… you live by a human village…" _

_"I don't bother them, they don't bother me. I have no problems with humans and since then I see no reason to fight them," the girl replied softly._

_"So then, what name befits a demon such as yourself?" he asked politely, falling into the odd formal speech he normally was forced to speak in._

_"My name… its Kinnara… now…" she looked at him, annoyance written across her face, "I've told you my name, what's yours?"_

_The young man shied away from the girl, afraid for once that she might actually hurt him. His hands patted the air between him and her as though trying to quell her already rising fury._

_"My name is Tetsuo," he replied happily._

_"…" Kinnara looked over shocked and then stuttered out "Tetsuo… GENERAL TETSUO! Of the demon army!" _

_Tetsuo winced then sighed, nodding his head in defeat._

_"I…I…," she finally stopped stuttering and reached for a nearby water jug and the next thing Tetsuo knew water was dripping off his face…_

Kurama woke up sputtering; a glass of ice water had been flung onto his face. Narue stood pale faced across the table from him, an empty glass clutched in her right hand.

"What…?" he wiped water off his face with the sleeve of his uniform and looked up at Narue, shock written on his emerald eyes.

"You fainted," she replied curtly, roughly placing the glass on the counter of the small kitchen.

"You okay, Kurama?" Yusuke asked, looking at the red haired youth.

"I… believe so…" Kurama rubbed his already tangled mass of rose red locks and then yawned, stretching his arms toward the ceiling.

"Dude, you should head to bed," Kuwabara added helpfully and Kurama nodded weakly, already exhausted though he didn't know why...

-

trenity170: YAY! I've finished with yet another chappy! I'm so happy! Hm… chappy… happy, it rhymes! WOOT! starts to laugh hysterically

Narue: Would you please stop?

Kurama: You're scaring the readers!

Trenity17: stops laughing abruptly Oh… hadn't though of that…

Narue: We should really start to reply to our reviews! Well… review…

Trenity170: Yeah. Kittyluv says "You're back! YAY! This is starting to get eve more interesting. What happened to Kurama? Please update again soon!

Kurama: Looks at Trenity170 You keep making me pass out…

Trenity170: Hm… Yeah… I do. Get used to it! FUN! Well… you'll find out more in the next chappy. See ya


	5. No Smoking

When Kurama finally woke up he found himself sprawled out on his bed, still dressed in his uniform. It was already late into the night and exhausted he sat up, holding his head in his hands. There were no odd dreams that time and for that he was thankful.

Slowly, drifting through the still night air he heard the straining notes of a haunting melody dance through the small crack in his window. Each note seemed to be heavy with tears that had never been cried, the notes weaving a feeling of misery around him. Quietly he made his way to the window to see where the noise was drifting from but saw nothing. Curious, he ventured out of the sanctity of his room and down the gray halls to find the door outside. With a soft push they opened and off under an old tree sat Narue, her thin form wrapped around an old cello, her bow moving gracefully through the air as the moon traveled above her.

Enchanted by the scene, Kurama just stood there barely out of the doorway, watching as she played the melancholic tune. The tip of her bow glowed dimly from the moonlight and he watched it traced through the air. Scratches laced the sides of the cello and it had defiantly seen better days but from the way Narue held it to her body he could tell she treasured it.

"Hm? So it was her playing…" a voice muttered below Kurama and he looked down, startled, to see Koenma standing next to him, an odd smile on his face.

"Yes, I didn't know anyone could play such a sad tune…" he replied softly, not wanting to disturb the girl.

"She plays from experience. Did you know she's a widow?" Koenma looked over at the redheaded boy and then just walked off, back to his office and the mountains of paperwork that just never seemed to disappear.

"A widow?" Kurama echoed and looked at Narue as she played the final note, ending on a minor chord the seemed to drip grief.

Her body damp from the dew, she looked over at the slowly rising sun, as dawn was just breaking. Pulling the cello closer to her body she sighed, wiping droplets of water off her face.

"A glooming peace this morning brings. The Sun for sorrow will not show his head," she muttered to herself but was surprised when she heard an answer come from Kurama, who stepped into her view.

"Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; some what be pardoned, and some punished…" he trailed off for a moment when she finished the phrase.

"For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

Narue stood up gracefully, leaning the instrument's slender neck against the trunk of the old oak and smiled at Kurama, grateful for the company.

"Romeo and Juliet… what a terrible tragedy," Kurama noted.

"Yes, but it's better to have loved and lost then never loved at all," Narue quipped, flexing the fingers that clasped the old bow.

"You play wonderfully," Kurama noted, waving his hand casually at the battered instrument.

"Thank you… did I wake you…?" she asked timidly, wrapping her arms around her waist, trying to pull some from around her in vain.

"No, no not at all, I was already awake when I heard your enchanting music."

Narue looked over at him with her bright eyes and smiled tenderly, a look of genuine worry crossing her tanned face.

"Are you feeling better… I mean… well… you just passed out all of a sudden," while asked him she slowly picked up her instrument with the care one would have handling a Ming vase and not an old, decrepit cello.

"Much better, I guess I was tiered," he replied, joining her as she walked back to her room, clutching the string instrument to her body with a peculiar sort of affection.

She nodded to him before stopping at her room and gently nudging the handle with her elbow to get it to open and slowly made her way in, resting the instrument against the corner's support.

"Thanks, sorry for bothering you," she added cheerfully and Kurama cast a quick glance over her room.

It was dimly lit room, little different then his own. The bed was shoved up against the far left wall, the sheets were crumpled onto the cool stone floor. Hidden in a shadowed corner was an old, batter trunk, various old hotel stickers were plastered onto the old wood and the metal bindings were beginning to rust. Scattered on the floor were old scrolls, some unfurled and ready to be read, an old script running down the thick parchment in fading black ink.

"You should pick those up," he motioned to the scrolls and she just sighed.

"They've stood the test of time for this long, a few day's aren't gonna kill 'em," she replied aloofly, placing her bow down gently on the old bedside table.

Kurama sighed and calmly began to make his way around the small space and proceeded to pick the ancient scrolls up, placing them carefully on the table.

"So… did you like my music? You said it was wonderful, but what do you mean by that?" Narue asked shyly, looking at him over her shoulder as she began to make her bed.

"Your music was haunting, I wonder how you have learned to play so despondently…" but he knew why. He looked at Narue as she shook out the thick cotton sheets. He would have never thought a girl as young as her could ever have been married, yet alone be a widow, but Koenma had said she was… poor girl. It was only then that he saw the sad undertones that lingered in the girl's smile. It haunted her face just barely, the ghost of her emotions still lingering behind her eyes.

"Well, head back to your room and try to get some more sleep. Dawn has barely broken and there is another long day tomorrow," Narue dismissed him with a nod her head but he did not want to leave just yet.

"You're fighting Kazuma tomorrow, correct?"

"Yeah, I have a feeling that I'll get injured again…" she trailed off, trying to pull out a chain from under her shirt, and he noticed she was soon grasping onto a thick silver chain, and threaded onto it was an old iron key and was in the old Victorian style that no one ever saw anymore except at antique stores.

"Maybe it would help if you fought back…" he looked over at her and smiled encouragingly.

"Where's the fun in that? Besides, I'm used to it. My body can handle extreme amounts of pain, so don't worry," she winked at him.

He watched as she swiftly knelt down and unlocked the worn chest with a twist of her wrist. He noticed that she had fresh black gloves on and it seemed to be her trademark. Her hair fell over her neck to just barely cover the tan skin but as she moved her could see something was tattooed there.

"Well, thank you yet again, Kurama," she flashed a smile at him but he could see sadness that he had never noticed before and he sighed and nodded.

As he left her room he closed the door quietly behind him, waiting until he heard the click to give a somewhat depressed smile. He really didn't know that much about Narue and was beginning to wonder if maybe that was a good thing. Instead of heading to his room he walked to the small kitchen and heated up more water for tea…

Narue shoved the lid of the trunk up, revealing a deep black pit that seemed to go on forever. Stairs went deep into the darkness and shelves lined the sides. It was an old gift from friend and she sighed, leaning into it to place the scrolls on the shelves inside.

"Hn. What was that all about?" she heard a cold voice mutter behind her and it caused her to start, banging her head on the thick lid of the trunk.

"Ow! Ototou-san!" she cried out, glaring at the short young man who simply smirked back.

"You were playing your cello," he noted, handing another scroll to her to place on the various shelves.

"Yeah, so you heard… I'm sorry, it usually makes you sad… doesn't it?" casting a glance over her shoulder while brushing the dust that had rubbed off onto her from the shelves.

"No… I… Liked it…" he replied, his crimson eyes darting down to see the small label on the papyrus.

Narue gasped and then looked over at Hiei, cracking a mocking smile at him. "No! Hiei can't like ANYTHING!" the last words were playfully sarcastic.

"Hn. When did you get this scroll?" he waved it at her.

"What? Which scroll is it? And would you stop waving it around!" she cried out, snatching it from his hands.

"Hm? Oh… this one… I found it at the Demon Bazaar. Why?"

"You actually went to Makai?" he cocked an eyebrow at her skeptically.

"Not me. Why would I? They'd eat me alive… literally. No, I sent a friend of mine. She was more then happy to pick it up, so long as I paid her," Narue shrugged, putting it away. But she did cast one last glance at the label.

It read: Painting of the Ancients…

By the time the sun finally rose in the sky and the world was washed in the deep gold colors of morning, nearly everyone was in the training room… except Narue… who was sitting in her room, just staring out her window. As per usual, Narue has lost track of time and already an hour had passed.

Bored she finally decided it might be time to head down. She slowly unbuttoned her pale yellow blouse, her thing fingers fiddling around with small, mother of pearl buttons. Covering her slender upper body was a light, satin undershirt. Her tan skin was riddled with thin scars, lacing down her almost skeletal arms. Quickly she pulled on a soft cotton cap sleeved top and a fresh pair of soft khaki slacks that were once strewn across her bed's sheets. She traded her thick black boots in for a sensible pair of hiking boots and then walked out the door, flipping the light switch off as she left…

"Okay, what I don't get is just how bad of a fighter is our new trainer?" Kuwabara wondered out loud in the training room, causing his companions look over at him.

"What are you talkin' about now, Kuwie?" Yusuke asked while he looked over at his orange haired friend/fighting partner.

"Hm?" Was all that came out of Kurama who looked up from another thick textbook that he had "borrowed" from Koenma's library.

"What are you babbling about now?" Hiei muttered darkly, turning his crimson gaze upon the human.

"Well, just look what happened to her yesterday! She better fight me today or else I'll totally just walk off! What is Koenma playin' at?" He demanded, throwing his hands into the air for the added emphasis.

"Yeah, you do that!" Yusuke nodded over to him, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and pulling one out.

"Don't do that…" Kurama muttered weakly, he had already given up on trying to curb Yusuke's revolting habit.

"I say we'd be better off training her!" Kuwabara nodded his head at the final word.

"Hn. Don't talk about things you don't understand," Hiei muttered off as Narue poked her head into the room before finally walking in.

"Hello! Wow, you're all here early!" She called out cheerfully as she walked in.

"No, you're just late," Hiei replied calmly, smirking at the tall young woman.

"Same dif, jeez," she countered and then quickly turned around to look at Kuwabara and nodded her head politely.

"So… you use a spirit sword…" she waited, then shot an annoyed glance at the spirit detective and added, "Well… Am I right or am I left?"

"What?" Yusuke muttered.

"Big Friendly Giant? Are any bells a-ringin'?" Kurama just nodded his head slightly and Hiei just barely tilted his head forward to let her know.

"Riiiiiight…" She sighed. She was gonna have to really train these guy.

She cast her bright yellow eyes looked over at Yusuke and the cigarette that he was sucking on so content, letting the nicotine flow into his body. An annoyed look flashed across her face before she walked over quickly, her very movements seemed agitated as they were quick and rather rough before she stopped in front of Yusuke. In one swift movement she reached out with a gloved hand and pulled the cigarette out then twirled it around, letting the still smoldering butt brush against his lips and then finally letting it collide with his tongue.

"UGH!" Yusuke struggled to get away from her hands and finally succeeded as she let go, smirking at him with a surprisingly cold look in her eyes before catching Yusuke's fist before it collided with her jaw.

"Do…not… smoke… around… me…AGAIN!" she emphasized every word, each syllable laced with the infuriation that was coursing through her veins.

"You burned me!" Yusuke retorted, furious with their new teacher.

"Bravo… you smoke any where near me again and I'll burn something else that you don't want burned," she threatened quietly…

Trenity170: ACK! This chappy turned out a bit slow in the end!

Kurama: Then why are you apologizing?

Narue: Yeah, why not just re-write the chappy?

Trenity170: Hm? I don't really know… guess I'm just lazy! (laughs and shrugs)

Narue: Um… reader review responses! Kittyluv says " Kinnara and Tetsuo sound like really cool characters. Can't wait to hear more about them and what is up with Kurama."

Tetsuo: YAY! Kittyluv likes us! (hugs Kinnara who just sighs)

Trenity170: Yeah! Thanks for the comment! I really like the two, too! And you'll find out what's up with Kurama eventually, though if you figure it out before it's revealed I'll be pretty darn impressed!

Narue: Niana Kuonji says "Of course Hiei had a childhood, you dimwit! (Smacks Yusuke on head) his just sucked to all hell, though. Kinda like yours, only he killed the people after he beat them to a bloody pulp. But why DID Kurama faint? Did Narue drug his tea or something?" Hm…. (looks at reviewer shocked) I would never drug Kurama with tea! How cliché!

Kurama: Great…. Like Trenity170 says, you'll find out what's going on with me when the time comes…

Trenity170: Yeah… the plot for this fanfic is pretty intense… and wonderfully complicated. Anywho… Niana Kuonji also reviews saying "You still haven't told us why he fainted! I like Tetsuo, though, he's got a fun personality."

Kinnara: Jeez, no love for me! (fakes looking hurt) There is one thing you should know, everyone Kurama sees in his dreams has some kind of mental disorder (like extreme depression and such) due to stress… why, you ask, you'll find out!

Yusuke: HieiFan666 says "…interesting… I still haven NO IDEA what those dreams Kurama are having have to do with the story. But, I know it's going to be complicated. Plz update soon. Ja ne."

Trenity170: There will be hints on what the dreams have to do with the story coming up soon. In the meantime, the next chappy will be yet another dream and picks up where the last one ended! WOOT! Until next time, please review so I'll respond! Cheerio! (runs off to work on next chappy for Alternate Universe)


	6. TRAITOR

_"What was that for!" Tetsuo sputtered, wiping water out of eyes and staring at Kinnara who put the old clay mug back on the old wooden table. _

_"For THAT! Do you know what those villagers will do if they find out you're here! By the Gods, you are a moron!" She cried out, ready to kill him but she found herself unable. He just smiled apologetically, his hair falling around his face, each strand of his green locks weighted with the lukewarm water she had just thrown on him._

_"Heh… well, I needed a bath anyway!" he just laughed which only made the girl more mad. _

_"I have half the mind to run one of my spears through you're smug little face!" She cried out…_

Kurama shook his head and found himself back in the training room. Narue was pulling herself up onto the platform while Kuwabarra was already standing on the thick stone blocks that made the ring.

"You're main weapon is a sword, right?" Narue asked cheerfully, pulling at the collar of her blouse and then though better and unbuttoned it, revealing a simply silk camisole underneath that more then covered the needed parts of her body.

"Yeah…"

"Great… I don't have a sword… and fighting you with a spear just doesn't seem all that fair…" Narue muttered off then promptly bit her lip as though thinking.

"I can use the spirit javelin…" Kuwabarra muttered.

Kurama slowly began to nod off again and soon his chin fell to his chest…

_"Please don't spear me, it sounds painful!" Tetsuo cried out comically, holding out his hands as though warding off some evil creature. _

_"Ha. Regular jester, you are!" Kinnara cried out, exasperated before cuffing him on the head. _

_"Ouch!"_

_"You'll be thinking ouch… What are you doing so far away from the demon army's encampment?" _

_"I… Well… Actually, I don't know…" Tetsuo trailed off looking out through the old shutters to the mountains that framed the old countryside. Cozy huts were nestled close to the base of the range and farmland stretched out as far as he could see. _

_"I'm on the wrong side of the mountains…" he muttered, rubbing his bandage covered forehead. _

_"No… really!" Kinnara replied sarcastically, falling onto the ash covered ground that surrounded the small fire pit. _

_"Still… Why did you throw water at me anyway? I mean, it can't just be because the villagers nearby would be upset, right?" He looked over at the demon who was sitting near the fire. Her soot streaked skirt had gathered around her knees, revealing tanned legs that had long slash marks of ash weaving across the unblemished flesh. _

_"I… It's because you're… AUGH!" she pulled at her short hair._

_"Augh? What exactly is an Augh?" Tetsuo asked lightheartedly but pulled away as she slowly looked over at him, pure hatred making her eyes almost glow. _

_"You are the GENERAL of the DEMONIC ARMY! This war has called so many deaths and you are one of the causes!" she cried out, glaring at the green haired demonic man. _

_"That may be true, but do not think that I am the only killer. I do not kill children or women," Tetsuo added quietly as he looked away from the yellow eyed gaze of Kinnara. _

_"Hmpf, you may speak of honor but you have none. Do not think that you can trick me into believe that you do. All killers find ways to sleep at night, how can I believe you to be any different!" she angrily rose to her feet and stormed out of the cozy hut. _

_"UGH! I can't STAND him! What is he! An honorable villain! That is what he is!" she cried out once she was in the sanctity of the forest._

_"Ah… Lady Demon?" A timid voice called out to her and she spun around to face a young boy. Dressed in loose rags he ran up quickly to her, wringing his small hands in worry._

_"Hm? Shintaro? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be tending to your crops with your father?" she asked kindly, kneeling so she could gaze into the boy's deep chocolate eyes._

_"Lady Demon! I cannot tend to my crops! A demon is ravaging it at this very moment!" he cried out, throwing his calloused hands into the air. _

_"What!"_

_"It's just like I said, Lady Demon!" Shintaro cried out…_

Kurama startled awake at the sound of Narue rapidly swearing.

"What is it now?" Hiei's cold voice asked the young girl.

"Ugh… my only sword broke a week ago! Damn that demon!" she cried out while looking over apologetically at Kuwabara.

"Hey, no sweat, I'll just use the spirit…" he was cut off with the sound of two clicking sounds then a heavy object being placed into Narue's hand.

"Use this, just DON'T break it…" Hiei muttered and soon everybody was staring at what Narue now held in her gloved hands.

It was Hiei's sword, unsheathed and ready for use. She curled her fingers around the simple hilt and smiled at him warmly.

"Thanks!"

There was an awkward silence that filled the training room as everybody's eyes except Hiei and Narue's were resting on the sword.

"No way… Did HIEI just give Narue his SWORD?" Yusuke whispered loudly to Kurama who just nodded his head, also shocked.

"Great! This way I can give you a fair fight!" She cried out happily as she gave the sword a few test swings.

"Be careful or you'll poke someone's eye out... Have you even practiced since I left?" Hiei chastised at her and she smiled at him, embarrassed.

"You really are hopeless… and to think you were once feared..." he muttered to himself darkly before going over to the wall, leaning against it calmly.

"Right-o! Fun! Well then… let us get started, Kuwabara? Come at me when you're ready!" Narue called out cheerfully, flexing her fingers on the hilt before nodded to him, still smiling.

"Right! But you better fight me this time!" Kuwabara called out to her before running forward, raising his spirit sword as he did so.

With surprising speed Narue parried the blow and darted away. Slicing the air with surprising speed Kuwabara kept going at her. Unlike with Yusuke though she continued to give a rather interesting fight but it was not enough to keep Kurama awake…

_"Hm… well then, do you need me to help you with the demon… or do the reiki warriors have it contained?" Kinnara asked as she finally stood up, wincing as her knee popped. _

_"No! No one can stop it! Even the elementalists!" He cried out and Kinnara could see that he was shaking. _

_"So… You want me to help?" _

_He nodded feverently at her, trying to keep himself composed but he was on the verge of tears. _

_"Alright… just give me a moment to grab my spear…" she called to him as she raced back to her hut, throwing the small back door open. _

_Tetsuo looked over as she ducked through the opening and quickly grabbed her favorite spear, the one with the bells. _

_"Where are you off to?" He asked as she began to duck through the doorway so she could leave. _

_"There's some demon ravaging the fields! I've got to go!" she cried out as she raced out to follow Shintaro to his father's fields. _

_"What kind is it!" Kinnara screamed to him as her long strides caught up to him and quickly outraced the boy._

_"A water Oni!"_

_"Gotcha!"…_

Nearly falling off the bench was how Kurama awoke, slightly startled when he heard Narue scream in pain as a blow from Kuwabara connected and sent her reeling, her shoulder scraping across the stone floor.

"Ouch…" she groaned as she heaved herself off the floor. The shoulder of her blouse was torn away, revealing a bleeding shoulder and two frayed straps, one for her bra and the other for the camisole.

"Hey, you okay? I didn't mean to hit you that hard!" Kuwabarra cried out to her but she just bit her lip and nodded to him.

"I've gone through worse! Now then…" she stood straight again, "is that all you've got?"

Kuwabarra just grinned. At least she was giving up a fight unlike with Yusuke. As he charged at her, his spirit sword rising as he got closer, she got ready. Just as he swung she ducked and the only thing the sword sliced through was the hem of her already stained shirt. Soft fabric flew into the air to be tossed by the soft breeze that danced through the room.

With one deft movement she darted through his legs and stood up behind him. She did not raise Hiei's sword but instead her fist and swiftly punched the back of Kuwabarra's head. He fell forward and stumbled for a moment before spinning around to face her.

Anticipating his every move she couldn't help but bounce lightly on the balls of her feet and this time darted away as he slashed at her again with his spirit sword. Unlike last time she could not move out of the way in time and the spirit blade cut through her top and camisole, tearing the fabric away and revealing her midriff.

"Hey!" she screamed in indignation, blocking his next blow but she wasn't ready for the other spirit sword that he had just made. It slashed across her upper arm, cutting the sleeve away from her right.

"HA!" Kuwabarra cried out in victory as he now placed her on the defense while she rapidly blocked his blows with surprising agility but it yet again wasn't enough as one last blow cut away the blouse from her body and instantly made Kuwabarra freeze at what he saw.

Running up her arms were long scars that looked like burns. They twisted up her arms and eventually stopped near her shoulders though a few made it to her neck. On her lower back whip marks laced across her skin, standing up in small, smooth ridges. But what was most frightening was the word carved into the inside of her right forearm. The word was burned into her skin with careful handwriting and while old, still looked as though it caused pain. The word was what caught everybody's eyes…. It read : TRAITOR….

Trenity170: YAY! Another great chappy… I hope…

Kurama: What do you mean… "I hope…"? Shouldn't you know? You are the writer?

Hiei: This baka nigen doesn't know anything….

Trenity170: I'd be nice if I were you… well.. for reviews…

Narue: My job! ShadeSpirit says " Pretty Good. I like it, and there's mystery. Keep at it

Trenity170: Aw! Thanks! I'm such a mystery nut you have no idea how much fun it is to write one. Well… enjoy, please review… and until next time… Cheerio!


	7. New Seals

-Back again! Thanks for the tons of reviews this time! Well… back to the storyline… oh and the last chapter that I had to remove... I'm sorry, mixed up documents, the chapter I have removed was the first draft of the first chapter. SORRY! Here's the real chapter now, without much ado!

TRAITOR. It was burned into Narue's arm… but why? The word sent shivers down Kuwabarra's back and shocked him so much he did not realize that Narue had already rushed upon him and held the sword to his throat.

"You let yourself get distracted… My win…" she muttered and she let the sword slowly drop from his throat and gently she handed it back to Hiei. If anyone had cared to look at the small demon they would have noticed a pained, guilty expression on his face as his crimson eyes leveled onto the scars… but luckily for him, no one did. Their eyes were all fixed on Narue as she slowly made her way down from the platform.

"Hey… Kuwabarra… get you back checked out… I hit you pretty hard and it probably jarred something… 'kay?" she asked quietly. Still stunned, he just nodded and made his way out, followed quickly by Kuwabarra.

"Why don't you hide those?" Hiei muttered quietly to her as he made to leave.

"I feel no need to!" she hissed to his retreating back and sighed. Soon she was left alone in the room with a…. well… Kurama, who was sleeping again…

_Kinnara raced down to Shintaro's family's field to see a rather frightening water oni, it's long claws digging huge divots into the freshly tilled earth. Rushing away from the huge behemoth was a large portion of the village's reiki warriors and various spell casters. _

_"HEY! MOVE IT!" Kinnara hollered as she raced past the humans and up to the front lines, where a few brave, if stupid, warriors and spell casters remained, trying with all their might to defeat the oni. To say it plainly… they were failing. _

_"We do not need your help, Demon!" one strained warrior spat at her but she just ignored him and slowly stepped forward, past the human, and once they saw the lightning circling around her hands they began to run…_

"KURAMA!" Narue screamed as the young red head started awake from his dream. He looked over at her confused, but surprisingly rested.

"Jeez, you really need some rest!" she laughed as she rotated her shoulder painfully, waiting for it to pop back into its socket.

"Yeah…" Kurama muttered as he tried to pull himself out of his daze.

"Well, everyone's gone… Hm… now where did I put that…" she muttered, leaning over the bench and looking under.

"Put what?"

"My spare jacket! I had a feeling my old one might get torn… damn, it gone!" she groaned, then patted a pocket and her pants and cursed loudly.

"What's wrong?" Kurama asked, startled by her coarse language.

"Damn it!" she cried out again and then spotted something very close to the base of the fighting ring and nearly pounced on it. It was a small orange tube with a white cap. Inside were three long white pills. She popped the cap off, downed the contents and then tossed it aside thoughtlessly.

"Guess my jackets not here… see ya later," Narue muttered nonchalantly, as though it didn't bug her at all and with that she left. Quietly Kurama picked up the bottle as cast a quick glance at the label.

It was a high dose of painkiller, very high. He looked at where Narue was with a worried look on his face…

Narue sighed deeply as she filled the old kettle with water, setting on the coils of the stove. Every muscle in her body ached but what worried her most was the pain that was stabbing through her heart.

"Long time no see, sparky." The voice was one that Narue knew all too well. She turned around slowly, trying to ignore the pain as her body resisted the movement.

"Genkai… you're still alive?" Narue asked, shock written across her face.

"Yes… not saying that I haven't died…" she added tersely, pulling up her own seat across from Narue.

"I should have known…" Narue muttered off, looking away from the small woman.

"So… what is this?" she asked, holding up the orange pill container that Kurama had given, hoping that she could talk to Narue about it.

"A pill container? I would indeed think that it was… um… _obvious?_" she replied sardonically.

"I knew that, you idiot! I mean, what are you doing with this high a dose of painkiller?" Genkai demanded, slamming the small plastic tube onto the gnarled oak table.

"Trying to get by, what else does it look like? I'm in pain, take those away and I won't function!" Narue snapped back, snatching the container and throwing into the rubbish bin. (or… well… trash can, in America!)

"Those old wounds wouldn't cause enough pain for you to need painkillers… what is it then?" Genkai asked, curious.

"Careful there, old hag," Narue warned, "Curiosity killed the cat! Why would you want to know anyway?"

"Because, if your 'Ototou-san' finds out, he's going to start bugging you and me to no end…"

Narue sighed and made her way to the kettle, which had begun to whistle angrily. She poured out two mugs of steaming water and tossed into two small tea bags, watching the water begin to turn a light orange then slowly darken. Silently she made her way back to the table and slid on mug over to Genkai who stopped its slow progress and picked it up, taking a small sip. Narue simply took a swig of hers and sighed, running her slim, still gloved finger around the thick rim and sighed, her eyes downcast.

"Genkai… remember the first time we met?" she suddenly asked. Surprised by the random question, she answered.

"Of course, my memory hasn't gone yet."

"You were a lot younger back then…"

"Don't dodge the question. Why do you need these painkillers?" Genkai demanded, glaring at Narue, but was surprised with what she saw. Hunched in her chair, she looked desolate and defeated. One finger still trailed the rim of her mug and her eyes stared at the motion sadly.

"Because… I probably won't make it to the end of the year," she replied desolately before taking another sip of her tea.

"What do you…" Genkai trailed off as she suddenly just stared at the young woman.

"You see… it started with the pain… then the bleeding," Narue added.

"Does Koenma know?"

"Yeah… Just… please don't tell Hiei… I don't want him to know…"

"Feh, do what you want with your body, not like anyone could stop you anyway!" Genkai shot back and promptly stormed out of the kitchen, leaving her mug half empty.

Alone again Narue sighed, bowing her head. Why did everyone worry about her? As she looked up she saw Botan was now standing in the doorway, looking at her apprehensively.

"Hm? Botan, what is it?" Narue snapped, still angered by Genkai little visit.

"Um, Koenma wants to talk to you…"

She sighed, after all she really didn't need this right now. "Fine, tell him I'll meet with him later."

"Well, he kinda said…" Botan tried to finish but was cut off my Narue.

"Let me guess… 'Now'. I get the point…" she groaned as she pulled herself out of the chair and made her way to Koenma's office.

"Narue, I have some good news…" Koenma started talking the moment she made her way into the room, not even waiting until she closed the door.

"Really? Did you find a stronger seal?" she asked, hopeful.

"Fortunately, yes. You'll be able to get the new seals placed tomorrow," Koenma handed over to her a small stack of papers. Her eyes flicked across the surface to see scrawled over with symbols and small, concise handwriting in deep blue ink.

"Great… it'll hurt like Hell tomorrow… until then… thank you, Koenma, sir!" Narue cried out, running out of the large room, clutching the papers to her chest.

Only minutes passed until she had thrown open the door of the library and rushed over to the nearest table. She roughly pulled a chair out and fell into it, slapping the papers onto the table's surface. From the force the sheets spread over the table, a few almost fell off but she caught them. With her right hand she reached into the breast pocked of her jacket and pulled out a pair of square, black rimmed glasses and quickly opened the legs with a flick of her wrist and let them perch on the tip of her thin nose precariously.

Her yellow eyes darted across the papers, scanning the text and drawings and slowly a smile spread across her face. With each word it looked more promising and by the time Hiei came into the room to see what in the world was going on she had broken it a wide grin and was laughing.

"What are you laughing about now," he asked her coldly as he made his way to the table, staring at the clutter with a look of distaste.

"This just might work!" she cried out, thumping a fist against the oak table, sending papers scattering. Bored, Hiei snatched on of the papers out of the air and quickly cast a glance at them and then looked up at her, confused for a moment on what the odd symbols were there for.

"What are you doing now?" he asked, sounding almost exhausted.

"Hm? Saving my sorry butt! Tomorrow I'm getting new seals!" she cried out, exuberant.

"New seals? What's wrong with the old ones?" He asked, looking at her, almost angry that she hadn't told him something was wrong.

"Well…" she looked away from him crimson gaze, suddenly very uncomfortable. She knew she should have told him but what did he expect? They hadn't seen each other since the last fight…

"'Well' what?" he snapped at her and she sighed, and simply took of one of her gloves and cast a look at her palm. Hiei quickly followed suit.

Tattooed onto her palm was an intricate seal in deep blue. Ancient script circled around various old symbols of power. The muscles in her hand were tense and he could see the veins that were pressing against the skin from strain. Then he saw it… running across her wrist was a seiries of long, thin scars… he said nothing…

"These ones… are… well… they're killing me, Ototou-san. I just need new ones placed! Don't worry!" she tried to smile at him, pulling the glove back on but Hiei had something to add.

"Baka! If only you'd stop being hu-" he was cut off when they heard the sound of someone passing out. Narue darted out of her chair to the door, but Hiei had beat her to it. Laying in the middle of the hallway was Kurama…

-YAY!

Trenity170: YAY! The story line progresses! Now to answer some of the reviews…

Narue: Hello, kittyluv! Why is Traitor burned into my arm? If I told you it would begin to spoil the story! And don't worry, everyone's computer gets screwy!

Trenity170: Yeah… mine keeps getting viruses… but I can fix that! (holds up wrench)

Kurama: (sighs and takes wrench from Trenity170) don't beat the computer anymore!

Trenity170: fine… (sulks)

Hiei: To KuwabaraMikey17 I say this: obviously she's a traitor!

Trenity170: (hits Hiei on head) be nice to the reader! Yeah, and thanks for thinking that chappy is great! I also believe that I need to answer the next review too… Having Narue get the dreams? I might or might not! But don't worry, these dreams are really important, now only if Kurama could just get that! And thanks! Oh yeah… that response was to 0ihfih!

Kurama: to brezzybrez, We would all love it if you continued to read this story! And Trenity170 will keep writing or else her friend will hit her on the head!

Trenity170: Speaking of the devil! To AbhoresenSabriel87… I DON'T CARE ABOUT SPELLCHECK! Would you just stop bugging me! You do enough of it over the phone!

Kurama: (sighs) to HieiFan666, we are very glad you keep reading this story! And yes, it is dramatic, but so is Trenity170! She's also eccentric!

Narue: The reason I'm branded as a traitor will defiantly come in soon! And it's a kicker!

Trenity170: (adjusts kimono… yes I spend most of my time at my house in an old, handmade kimono!) ShadeSpirit, thanks! I do adore that ending of the last chappy! And yup! Here's the new chappy! It is readyeth for youeth to readeth! Wow! 'eths really are fun to add! -

Narue: she's an odd one…

Tetsuo: And I'll respond for Niana Kuonji! Thank you for the long review! Yes, Narue doesn't go into Makai for various reasons, the brand just being one of many…. As for Kinnara's fate, you'll find out next chapter, which is another dream! And my mental problem is not Schizophrenia… why do you ask though?

Kinnara: But Tetsuo _does_ have a directional problem!

Narue: And thank you for approving of my way to teach Yusuke not to smoke!

Yusuke: (off someone grumbling about cruel and unusual punishment)

Trenity170: I do believe that that is the end! That that… heh… funny! Well, until the next chapter, au revior!


	8. Leaving Home

_Kinnara swore quietly to herself as she stared at the huge demon, her eyes scanning the monster up and down. Oh how she hated these dumb demons! Not a brain cell between the lot of them._

_"Ha! Pitiful humans, you send this little traitor to save you?" the oni thundered, laughing off to itself, sounding like the ocean in a hurricane. _

_"Just because I haven't chosen a side doesn't mean I'm a traitor, you idiot!" Kinnara muttered and in one fluid movement her right arm shot forward and let loose a rather large ball of pure yellow lightning. In an explosion of steam and mist everyone in the field watched with bated breath only to groan when they heard its laughter again. _

_"That almost hurt! A pitiful little weakling like you actually thinks that you can take me on?" he kept laughing._

_Kinnara just smirked. So, he thought she was weak? Well, she'd just have to prove him wrong. Dancing around her hands was yet again lighting, this time a pure, icy blue (higher voltage) and with that same smirk she ran at the demon, propelling herself forward with the lightning's blast. The moment she was close enough to the oni she pulled her right fist back and with all her strength punched him as hard as she could, her fist encircled by lightning so frightening it was black rimmed in blue. There as an earth shattering explosion, sending the small demon flying back, away from what was the oni. By the time the mist cleared the oni was gone, and so was Kinnara…_

Kurama woke to find himself in his bedthough he hadn't the foggiest idea how he got there. Slowly, he drifted off, his mind wandering to the dream that had just been broken…

_A few days had passed and Tetsuo was slowly beginning wake from yet another dreamless sleep. The sun had already long since risen but for one Kinnara was fast asleep, curled up in the ashes of the fire. Her eyes were squeezed shut, trying to block out the light. _

_Groaning softly he rolled out of bed and gingerly tested out his right leg. It was still sore. Demonic genetics or not, it would take a while to heal. Slowly Tetsuo made his way to the small door of the hut and let his hand rest on the wood when he stopped dead in his tracks and almost immediately hid behind an old pile of long since dried out logs. _

_KNOCK KNOCK!_

_Kinnara started awake, nearly jumped out of her own skin, and then realized where the noise was coming from. Someone was knocking on her door. As she made her way to the wood slats she noticed that Tetsuo was no where to be seen._

_'great… I've lost the general of the demonic army…' she thought to herself as she pulled the door open. What greeted her was a small group of reiki warriors and spell casters, probably back from the nearby battle. _

_"Good Afternoon, is there any reason why you are knocking on my door?" she asked as politely as she could while rubbing soot off her face. _

_"Demon… we are here to give you one warning!" one particularly rough looking warrior nearly shouted, catching Kinnara off guard. She took a slight step back to distance herself from the angry fighter and just sighed. _

_"Give me a warning of what? I have caused no pain to the village and do not fight in the battles. What wrong have I done to award me with this uncouth warning?" Kinnara implored her face the picture of innocence but her words stung each man like a knife. _

_"The demonic troops are advancing on the village. We do not want you siding with them." A spell caster added._

_"To make sure of this, we will give you the chance to leave by sunset… or else we will come here and take care of you ourselves."_

_Kinnara scanned the faces of the men and noticed that most of them were young but all of them held a silent look of defiance and hatred smoldered in their eyes. _

_"So young, and already you've been to war? I pity your wives and children. Do you really think that if I leave I won't join the demonic army? By giving me a chance to leave you may be writing out your own demise… I guess this is what they mean by the futility of youth," she spat at them. _

_One already short tempered warrior tried to attack her, his spirit scythe biting into her cheek and up dangerously close to her eyes._

_"Do not spit at us, fiend!" he growled at her and she just laughed, not even bothering to stop the blood that was flowing down one side of her face. _

_"Are you sure you're friend's not a dog demon? Look, he's already foaming at the mouth!" _

_"SHADDUP! I'LL KILL YOU!" he cried out, breaking free from his friends and racing towards her but the moment he slice at her, his scythes cut only into her afterimage. _

_"You'll have to be faster then that, human, if you even dream of taking me on," she whispered is his ear. _

_"Demon, we are only giving you this chance to leave because you have saved most of our families. Please, do not waste it," one youthful spell caster stated softly, looking at her with pleading eyes. _

_"I appreciate it, and I apologize that children such as yourselves have been forced to endure the tortures of war. Take care…" she then bowed her head and walked in, slamming the door shut. Sliding down the slats of the door, sighing as she fell to the ground, she just stared at her house… when the mug that was sitting on an old pile of logs suddenly toppled over and fell to the ground, shattering. _

_"So you were hiding? Pretty cowardly for the demon general!" Kinnara smirked at him as he stood up from his hiding place. _

_"I was going to leave but since it looks like you probably won't leave…" Tetsuo trailed off. _

_"Nah, I've got to leave. I couldn't live with myself if I caused any deaths to those boys," Kinnara replied, pulling herself off the cool ground. _

_"Ah… I see," Tetsuo nodded and as he watched the young woman search through an old box he had a sudden feeling of respect. _

_"Aha! There it is!" she exclaimed, holding up a very elegant red silk scroll. _

_"'There' what is?"_

_"Oh. It's a scroll my father gave me… I can't lose it," Kinnara explained, hugging it to her chest. _

_"What is the scroll of?"_

_"It's one of the prophecy scrolls for the Ancient Demons, for Balance." She explained while lovingly wrapping it in soft, clean linen. _

_"Where did your father get that?" Tetsuo asked, nearly rushing over. _

_"How should I know? He just gave it to me before he died," Kinnara shrugged, tying the cloth close in a knot. _

_"Your… father is dead?" Tetsuo asked gently, knowing this to be a very sore topic of conversation but she answered it readily._

_"Yeah, same with my mom. They were killed by humans."_

_This shocked Tetsuo, who looked over at her, confused. She showed such compassion for the humans but it was the humans that killed her parents. He watched silently as she grabbed an old bag and placed the scroll inside carefully. After slinging it over her chest she snatched her two most favorite spears and looked over at Tetsuo and nodded to the back door. _

_"You coming with me?" she asked. Tetsuo just quickly nodded and followed her out the door._

_"Where are you going to go?" Tetsuo asked gently as she led him into the forest. _

_"I don't really know. I'll find some place to settle down… maybe off in the mountains." She replied nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders. _

_"If you plan to stay somewhere peaceful then why carry spears with you?" he asked, curious. _

_"Just because I don't approve of violence doesn't mean I don't know it exists. Humans don't like demons, so I need to take care of myself."_

_"My, what a fascinating sense of logic," Tetsuo mused, smiling to himself as he followed the sooty Kinnara through the forest. _

_"What's that supposed to mean!" she demanded, twirling around to face him, brandishing a spear. _

_"Just that if you don't want to hurt people, then why would you even bother learning to fight back?" Tetsuo asked good naturedly and just gave her a smile that stopped her dead in her tracks, the beginning of a blush rising to her cheeks._

_"I never said I was fool. Look at the horrible times we live in! If you don't know how to fight you're as good as dead!" she exclaimed, tossing one spear in the air to catch it on it's decent. The air filled with the sounds of bells…_

_As night began to fall they had almost made their way out of the forest, the mountain pass was in sight. _

_"Great, It'll only take three days to cross the pass if we use the caves and then I can leave you at the encampment, okay?" Kinnara asked Tetsuo, turning around to face him. _

_"Alright, alright. You're pretty eager to get rid of me, aren't you?" he asked, giving her a fake injured look. _

_"Of course, I don't want to travel with a kill-," she was cut off when Tetsuo's head suddenly snapped around and he began to reach for the whip on his hip._

_"Hey! What's wr-." Tetsuo turned around to see why she had stopped talking, a sinking feeling slowly ran through him._

_Crumpled onto her knees, Kinnara was grasping at the shaft of an arrow; the point has already cut straight through her. Blood welled up out of the wound as she grasped at the shaft, as though not realized she was injured. _

_"T… TETSUO!" she cried out, pointing out behind him. Stepping out into the clearing was the quick tempered warrior from before and a large group of fighters and spell casters. The kind eyed spell caster was no where to be seen. _

_"My, my, my! What a foolish little demon!" the quick tempered man laughed, watching her struggle to stand. _

_"Yeah, you've now just betrayed the humans AND the demons!" another sniggered, cocking his bow at her. _

_"Leave her be!" Tetsuo exclaimed, snapping his whip at them to get his point across. _

_"Why, look at this? The traitor has friends with a demon general!" the quick tempered one sneered. _

_"Wataru, don't be stupid!" Kinnara screamed at the man who just stared at her with a look of loathing. _

_"Kinnara, don't move," Tetsuo scolded between his teeth as he snapped his whip once more at a spell caster that had come just a bit too close. _

_"I'll hold them off, Kinnara, run!" Tetsuo exclaimed. Not knowing what else she could do she pulled herself to her feet and ran. Every step she took made her shoulder throb but the bleeding had nearly stopped. Unfortunately, she didn't get very far. Another arrow pierced through the side of her calf, cutting through muscle. _

_The last thing she saw before she passed out was a small black clad figure's back…_

_-_

Trenity170: Well, there's another end to another chapter! But don't worry, no one will die yet! Next chapter you'll find out where Narue has gone! And Kurama will be awake again!

Kurama: Though Trenity170 would like to apologize to all you loyal readers out there for her computer. It recently changed the titles of all of her documents on her computer, so the chapters on her stories got really screwed up.

Narue: So sorry about that deeply. She's got her computer fixed, finally.

Trenity170: To simply answer the review given to me by HieiFan666, this is not a HieixOC fic, sorry, but yes, this story goes into the deep roots of Hiei's past, because I had soooo much fun inventing it. I'm positively happy that you're actually enjoying it. So yes, please continue to read this! And feel free to tell me any advice, or your thoughts, or whatever! Oh and, my loyalties… My fav characters are Hiei and Kurama, and that YAY that followed his passing out, coincidence or Freudian slip. You choose.

Tetsuo: Yes, to all of you, Trenity170 loves it when you tell her what you think or give advice! So please, review! Until next time.

Trenity170: SAYONARA!


	9. Bandages

The spirit detectives stood in front of a large, old house. Even though it had seen better days it was indeed well taken care of.

"Well, are any of you idiot going to _knock_, or are you just going to stand there?" Hiei asked temperamentally.

"Oh… right…" Yusuke shook himself out of the shock of how large his house was and raised a fist, knock crisply twice on the old wood door.

The door was opened by a young woman, around Yusuke's height. Dressed in a sensible pair of slacks and a denim blouse she seemed older than she looked. Raven black hair was pulled back with a leather headband and she just smiled at them, inviting them in.

"You must be here to see Narue. She'll be down in a just a few minutes, in the mean time just sit down and make yourselves at home. Ah, Hiei, good to see you again," she nodded her head to him and left the entry way.

Slowly, they made their way into the nearest room. An expansive living room, it was filled with classical, old furniture and great antiques.

"THIS is Narue's house?" Yusuke asked, looking around, impressed.

"Yes, it is my house," Narue's voice called over to them and they turned around, surprised by what they saw. Dressed in a loose kimono of white, gold and pale green she looked rather worn. The Obi was casually tied on, not at all formal and she just made her way to them, wincing as she sat down.

To put it simply, they had seen her better. Her normally robust skin was now pale, the usual flush to her cheeks absent, replaced by a whitish pallor. Dark circles made her eyes looks sunken and almost dull.

"Hey… are you okay?" Yusuke suddenly asked her and she looked over, smiling feebly at him.

"Yeah… never better," she sighed, "You are more then welcome at my home in the meantime… I would have just gone to Reikai to continue training you... but I fear the travel would only make health collapse in on itself."

"What do you…" Kuwabarra was cut off as she then stood and nodded her head to them.

"I have to admit I'm a terrible hostess but I promise you I'll be feeling better tomorrow. I must leave for a while, feel free to roam the grounds," she replied and quietly left the room, quietly followed by Hiei…

The small demon found her sitting in her room, staring out the window with dead eyes, her breathing shallow and rapid.

"What have you done to yourself now?" he asked coldly, making his way into the spacious room to finally stop at the edge of the old iron bed.

"Nothing I can't handle…" her voice slowly died, gradually dimming to nothing.

"Hn. Obviously you can't. Look at you," Hiei nearly spat.

Narue just sighed, smiling weakly at him, apologetically. His crimson eyes fell upon her hands. Thick, snow white bandages wrapped around her palms, clumsily pinned to keep them from moving covered her dry skin.

"I never could wrap my own bandages," she laughed weakly. Hiei sighed and made his way to the small cabinet, pulling the oak doors open. Quietly he pulled out two rolls of bandages and a large stack of gauze.

"…'anks…"

Carefully he unwrapped the dressings, wincing as he saw the damage. Most of the skin had been ripped off her palms and then healed over. Emblazoned on the tender tissue of her palm were new seals in a deep, murky blue. Blood covered the flesh, making the skin seem to shine a creepy garnet color.

"Are you gonna lecture me?" she asked Hiei, almost like a little kid to it's father after breaking a lamp.

"No."

"Oh… alright-y… you're not mad?"

"No."

"Not at all?"

"No! Now stop asking me these pointless questions already!" and with that little outburst Hiei shot her an evil glare worthy of a gold medal… if they gave out medals for evil glares… heh…

"Sorry. I asked Genkai to look at the muscle damage and she said it shouldn't be too bad," Narue added quietly, knowing that the short demon heard her even though she could barely hear herself.

"Hn, if you insist on being so obstinate it's going to kill you one day," Hiei muttered, tightening the last bit of the bandage for her right hand.

"You mean like you did?" she asked. It was very slight but Hiei noticed the stiff, cold tone that was cleverly masked with a forced giggle.

"It was the only way. If it wasn't me, it'd be her, and that you couldn't be brought back," he reasoned, starting on her left hand's wrappings, placing a pad of fluffy white gauze on her palm to soak up the blood.

"Ya know, I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had never met him..." Narue sighed, looking down at the ring on her finger as Hiei covered it with bandages.

"Would I have been… I dunno, happier? I guess it's really pointless, if I hadn't come of my own free will they would have just dragged me there," she wondered wistfully, staring out the window at the garden.

"…" Hiei looked up at the young woman, surprised to see she looked rather gloomy, her eyes downcast and her brow furrowed.

"Heh, I'm sorry to bother you with this nonsense, Ototou-san," Narue suddenly said, breaking the small silence that had filled the room.

"You're not bothering me with this. He used to babble on like that too, the idiot," Hiei muttered, finishing up her left hand with the small metal clasp.

"Yeah, he was," Narue replied, giving him a feeble little smile before falling back onto her bed.

"I…" Hiei suddenly stopped, looking away from the pale girl.

"I… what?" she asked, rolling onto her side to see him.

"… Nothing. Get some sleep or you'll wear that ningen body of yours out," he muttered, walking out of the room as silent as he had come…

Night settled on the house fast and it was soon that the woman who answered the door led each of them to the large dining room, set up English style, like most of the house.

"You will be dining here, food will be brought out in just a minute. Lady Narue apologizes that she won't be dining with you, but she's exhausted the last of her energy and is now sleeping. She'll be better tomorrow. Lord Hiei, would you mind taking her up her dinner… if she's hungry," she nodded her head to the short demon.

"Hn, she won't be hungry," Hiei muttered, taking the tray of food away from the housekeeper and promptly leaving.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what exactly is wrong with Narue?" Kurama asked politely.

The woman looked over at him, pushing a few stray hairs away from her face, sighing.

"Lady Narue recently… went through a surgery… or sorts," she replied quietly, looking around to make sure that Hiei or Narue was nowhere to be seen.

"What kind of Surgery?" Kuwabarra asked, sitting down to eat.

"… I'm not allowed to tell you. If Lady Narue wants you to know, she'll tell you," she replied, giving them a pained smile and then leaving.

"Why is it that nobody ever tells us the truth?" Kuwabarra wondered out loud, picking at the soba noodles with his chop sticks…

"I have your food," Hiei stated as he walked into Narue's room.

"Food? Ugh, I'm not hungry…" Narue moaned, looking weakly away from him.

"You might not be hungry, doesn't mean you can just 'not eat'," Hiei replied, placing the tray on the desk nearby.

"Soba with vegetables in a spicy teriyaki sauce…" she muttered.

"You're going to eat."

"I can't. My hands are all busted up. I can barely touch my fingers together, let alone grasp them around chopsticks."

"Hn, you really are helpless now," Hiei grumbled, picking up the ebony chopsticks that were resting over the bowl.

"What are you doing?" Narue asked, pushing herself up to watch as Hiei picked up a small group of soba noodles with a miniature head of broccoli.

"Are you hung-" she was cut off as the bit of food was promptly shoved into her mouth.

"If you can't use your hands, then I'm forced to feed you. You're like ningen toddler," Hiei complained, letting go the food and pulling out the chopsticks, reaching over for some more food.

"Augh!" Narue gasped for air after swallowing the food, "Are you trying to- MPHF!" more food was shoved into her mouth.

"STOP IT, already! I'm not a kid!" she protested, glaring over at Hiei.

"Really, you act like it," Hiei retorted, jabbing another morsel of food down her throat.

It went on like this for a while, Narue and Hiei arguing while Hiei forced food down into her mouth. Finally, the bowl was mostly empty in less then fifteen minutes.

"Ugh, Hiei, force feeding me isn't going to help me!" Narue objected, glaring evilly at the chopsticks still held surprisingly delicately in his hands.

"You need food, and if you think you can die this easily, you have a lot to learn," Hiei replied, putting the utensils down.

"Heh… guess you're right… I hate this body…" she muttered, leaning back on the pillows.

"Then take off those damn seals."

"I… don't think I really can… I'm afraid to…" she murmured, falling asleep.

Sighing, Hiei picked up the tray and leaving Narue to her rest…

-YAY! Time to answer your reviews!

-Narue: Well, ShadeSpirit, we're all so excited that you can't wait for the next one, and lookie! You just finished with it! .

Trenity170: Heh, HieiFan666, sorry the side stories really are that long though, but hm… a black clad figure… sounds familiar, doesn't it? (looks over at Hiei) But how it is also really important to the present.

Kurama: Thank you KuwabaraMikey17 for approving of the chapter!

Trenity170: So thank you, all of you! And feel free to ask the character's questions if you want! They'll answer!

Hiei: We will? (looks over very bored)

Trenity170: Yup! (grins evilly at Hiei)

Narue: So thanks! Extra Kudos for people who begin to unravel this mystery! And please review, see ya next chappy!


	10. Pyra and Gollum

_It was dark outside when Kinnara finally woke up, her entire body aching. Just a few feet away from her was a fire that was crackling merrily, illuminating the small bit of the cave that she was laying in. Groaning, she struggled to sit up but pain stabbed through her shoulder and she promptly fell back onto the hard rock floor. _

_"Don't get up," a familiar voice chastised and she looked over weakly. _

_It was Tetsuo. He was leaning up against the side of the wall._

_"Heh, you look like shit," Kinnara mumbled, looking over at the small blaze that covered the small cave in a deep golden light. _

_"Thanks, you don't look so nice yourself," he replied dryly._

_Ignoring the pain that raced through her shoulder she propped herself up on her elbows, trying to find out how she got there. Then she saw it, sitting in the shadows, dressed in black… someone was there. Shaking it off, while her head screamed at her for doing so she sighed, and ignoring the burning pain in her shoulder she propped herself up on her elbows and looked around for the person she could have sworn she had just seen. Was it nothing more than her imagination?_

_"Are you alright, Tetsuo?" she asked, lazily looking over for a moment before regretting it sorely as her neck popped and cracked in protest. _

_"I'll be fine. It's nothing more than a broken leg and something shattered near my shoulder. I should make it. No external injuries or open wounds though," he replied, taking a staggering breath, like it hurt. _

_"Hn. We need to get moving."_

_Kinnara looked around for the source of the voice, and realized that it must be the dark shadow in the cave that she saw. _

_"Would that really be wise? I pretty sure I could make it out of here, but with broken bones… Tetsuo shouldn't be moved!" Kinnara snapped back, struggling to stand, and the shadow felt a bit of surprise seeing the tall young woman stand. _

_Though she was shaking slightly, and both of her legs ached, she told herself to ignore it. Her starved body cried out for food and rest and she was reminded that she hadn't eaten in a week. _

_"I can make it!" Tetsuo replied stubbornly, doing his best to stand but his leg gave out in less then a minute. Leaning up against a stalagmite (I think those are the ones on the floors of caves, right?) to steady himself he cursed his stupidity for a few moments._

_"Stubborn idiot," Kinnara muttered, walking over to him, her pain barely noticeable as her face was stony and there as only a slight limp. Letting the demonic general lean up against her she sighed, looking around for that patch of darkness hiding in the shadows and called out to it, her voice bouncing around eerily. _

_"He can barely walk! Why can't we rest then?"_

_The shadow seemed to ponder it for a moment, and then replied. _

_"Humans are coming and I can't honestly keep saving you every time."_

_Typical. She hadn't even seen this guy and she already hated him. _

_"Fine…" she muttered, looking over at Tetsuo who was struggling to stand. _

_"I'll be fine," he replied stubbornly but the grimace on his face was far too much to stand. _

_"Follow me," the shadow replied coldly as the fire suddenly went out. _

_"Follow you? How do you follow a shadow through the darkness?" Kinnara asked impatiently, wincing as Tetsuo unwittingly dug his claw like fingers into the wound in her shoulder. _

_"Hn, frustrating," it muttered and suddenly there was a small ball of orange flames just between the shadow and Kinnara. It glowed just bright enough to let them see where they were walking though they still couldn't see who they were following. "Just follow that ball of fire."_

_"Great, we're blindly following you. I don't even know why I'm doing this… risking my life for the general of this ungodly war," Kinnara muttered under her breath as Tetsuo started to become heavier by the second, consciousness fading out of his mind. _

_Deep in the back of her mind, she knew why though. She was trying to save this man… because she held a last shred of hope that maybe he thought what she did. That maybe he could help stop this war that had torn her life apart. _

_"I'm so sorry," Tetsuo muttered feverishly through pain about thirty minutes later and suddenly he collapsed, her knees giving out. Thoroughly unconscious now, Kinnara had to stop, the general's weight finally causing her own knees to collapse too. Groaning to herself she quickly picked him up on her back, his face shoved up against her neck. _

_"Great… just great…" she muttered breathlessly as she gasped for her breath an watched as the small orb of fire, and her only light, disappeared into the darkness. _

_"For your sake and mine, lets hope that the tiny shadow returns," Kinnara muttered, hefting him higher up on her shoulders and slowly setting out. _

_After the third time her head collided with a stalactite Kinnara decided that this wasn't really something she should be doing. And that thing was carry a rather heavy guy on her back through a pitch black cave/tunnel system, and not to mention it was just stupid to do those things in virtually bare feet. _

_That's when she saw the small orb of light float towards her. _

_"What are you doing, lagging behind?" the cold voice asked her as she squinted into burning orange globe, trying the see the person's face. _

_"Forgive me, but the General passed out," Kinnara replied through gritted teeth, glaring into the light. _

_"So you slow down too?" it chastised, "Well than, hurry up!"_

_Mumbling dark curse words off into the nothingness that surrounded her, she shifted the demon general around her shoulders for a moment than set off, ignoring the deep gashes that were seemingly being sliced all over her body. _

_After what seemed like an eternity, light began to slice through the eerie gloom and finally they came to the exit. Blinking the dark dots from her vision she finally got a better look at the shadow. _

_It was extremely short, mainly considering the fact that Kinnara was amazingly tall. The lower half of his face was covered with black cloth, along with all of his hair, through what she could see was two bright crimson eyes that stared at her deviously. Wrapped around his slight form was a thick, heavy black cloak clasped with a thick, plain silver clasp._

_"So the shadow has a face. Would you mind tell me how far we are from the demonic encampment?" Kinnara asked disdainfully, shifting Tetsuo slightly on her back. _

_"We're not far from there, follow me," it replied. _

_Groaning slightly, Tetsuo finally began to stir as they reached the middle of the thick forest that closed off the demonic encampment for the moment. That's when there was an odd feeling, as though the temperature around them raised quite a few degrees. _

_"Well, well, well, what have we here?" a voice called out to then. _

_Each word wrapped around them like hot wire, though it sounded oddly sensual. It made the hair on the back of Kinnara's neck stand on end. _

_"Who the hell are you?" Kinnara asked, completely annoyed already as Tetsuo slid down her back and decided to stand, leaning on her instead of simply laying. _

_"Me? My name is Pyra, and why do you have Tetsuo on your back, you filthy peasant," she sneered, walking into their light. _

_Her well curved form was covered in a tight black silk dress that was trimmed in thick red cord. A long slit raced up her long, tanned legs and rested on the tops of her flat black slippers adorned with large rubies. Long, thick waves of pure scarlet hair fell to her waist in large, soft waves, framing her delicate face. _

_"Peasant? Coming from you? The village Call Girl!" Kinnara spat back, making Pyra glare back at her with bright orange eyes, rimmed in black and red. _

_"Pyra, please leave us be and let us pass," Tetsuo warned weakly, one leg shaking horribly as it protested him standing on it. _

_"Oh Tetsuo! You poor thing, you're injured!" she cried out, rushing towards him when she stopped dead I her tracks as soon as she heard the gentle whisper of a sword being pulled from its sheath. _

_"Do not lay a hand on him," the small shadow threatened, glaring at Pyra with crimson eyes brimming with hatred. _

_"Oh? A petty little sword? I am the Ancient of Fire, watch me ruin this little plaything," she whispered, placing a hand on the blade, making it glow a deadly orange. But what surprised her most was the fact that the sword did not melt. _

_"Hn, a pathetic creature like you couldn't hope to melt this!" it's wielder spat, pulling it out of her grasp and slicing her palm in the process._

_"General Pyra, please, leave him be," Tetsuo began weakly though she didn't hear. Furious and now in pain she stormed off, taking the steaming heat with her. _

_Sighing, Kinnara got ready to help Tetsuo walk again when they heard something walk through the forest and then, there it was. A monstrously tall stone creature standing stood in their way, looming over them all, even Kinnara, which was a feat all on its own. _

_"General Tetsuo?" it spoke in a surprisingly gentle voice, though it's baritone waver made Kinnara shiver slightly, as though the words were shaking her very soul._

_"Hello, General Gollum," Tetsuo responded weakly, barely managing to raise his hand in greeting. _

_"You look horrible, miss, would you let me take him back to the camp?" he asked gently, moving towards Kinnara, who suddenly felt very small. _

_"I…" What were you supposed to say to that?_

_"On second thought, you should come to," Gollum added, eyeing her feet nervously. _

_In all truth, Kinnara hadn't realized just how bad her feet were though as he looked down he found himself slightly horrified. _

_Huge gashes ran up her feet and calves, blood still oozing from the wounds. He could just barely tell that a few bone were broken. Looking up at the tall lightning demon with sympathy he tried to move away from her so he wouldn't harm her anymore. _

_"I'm fine," she growled quietly, making a face as the large stone creature gently pulled Tetsuo away from her arms, making her slump slightly. _

_"General, may I take her to the encampment?" Gollum asked politely, which under better circumstances would have made Kinnara burst out in laughter, seeing a huge stone behemoth acting as docile as a kitten._

_"Please," Tetsuo sighed, slumping into the large stone body, going limp as he was picked up and placed in the crook of an arm. _

_"Oh no you don't!" Kinnara warned, taking a step back and holding up a hand to fend off the approaching stone demon, looking around for the small shadow, it seemed it had abandoned her for the moment. Suddenly she felt the large hand of the General Gollum close around her waist and suddenly her aching feet left the blood soaked grass blades. _

_"C'mon, miss, you're coming with us."_

_"MY NAME IS KINNARA! AND PUT ME DOWN!" she cried out trying to struggle out of his grasp… but the blood loss hit her like a brick wall and she was out…_

Sitting straight up in his bed, Kurama looked around, confused. Where was he again? Then he remember, this was Narue's house. That's where he is. Sighing, he looked around the oddly spooky house until something call out his name, causing him to start.

-thank you all of you for reading. Can't wait to put up the next chapter. Please let me know what you think, review. Cheerio.


	11. Late Night Tea

- sighs I'm back again and exhausted. I keep rushing around to finish writing other chapters for my other stories and working on new ones… I think that's why I've been having so many headaches… either that or I'm going through caffeine withdrawal… probably that… yeah… Well, I believe it's time to start this story, so enjoy!

Kurama looked around to see who had spoken his name. It was a housekeeper, who smiled amiably at him as she stood in the doorway.

"Master Kurama, you're awake? Are you feeling alright?" she asked, pushing her perfectly trim bangs out of her eyes. She had soft jet black hair cut in a cute bob at her chin, pulled back with a deep blue ribbon tied at the top and despite what Kurama would have believed, she was not dressed in normal maid's clothing. Her upper body was covered in a thick white oxford blouse buttoned to the collar. Threaded under the collar was a thin blue ribbon the color of the one in her hair and it was tied in a loose blouse. She wore shorts that fell to mid thigh and were cuffed. From there her well toned legs were covered in navy blue tights, like the rest of her outfit besides the shirt and ended in sensible dull pumps.

"I'm fine…" he muttered, pushing himself off his bed and shoving his hair out his face.

"Good, here let me wash these," she replied sweetly, picking up the clothing on the floor and it was then that Kurama realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt. Blushing he tried to cover himself and the girl noticed.

"Would you like to borrow a shirt, Master Kurama?"

"You could hand me over my shirt there," he replied, motioning over to the small bundle of clothes in her arms. She wrinkled her nose and made a slight grimace, pinching it between two well manicured nails.

"No offense to you, Master Kurama, but it's filthy and needs to be washed," she replied quickly, shoving it back into the bundle.

Kurama sighed; guess he really didn't have a choice.

"Then yes, please. I would like to borrow a shirt."

"Just a moment then, Master Kurama," the girl replied, placing the bundle down and walking over to the old antique dresser.

Wrapping her fingers around the old brass knobs and pulled it open with all of her might and it slowly slid open. Rummaging around for a second she finally pulled out something and handed it over.

"I'll be putting these into the washroom while you get dressed and then I'll be in the kitchen getting tea ready, Master Kurama," she finished as usual.

"Alright, thank you. And you really don't have to call me Master Kurama," he replied.

She stopped for a moment and then walked off. Sighing Kurama got out of bed and looked at what she had handed him. It was an old fashioned shirt made of very thick, well worn silk in a pale green. It had a straight neckline except for a small V cut in the middle and tied with bright green cord. The wide sleeves were trimmed in a pattern of gold leaves on an emerald background, and left them slightly weighted. Shoving it over his head he pulled his hair through and behind him and looked it over. Because it was made to be loose it was comfortable and the wide sleeves allowed him to move freely. Shoving on the old pair of jeans the maid had left behind he tucked the hem of the shirt into the waist and walked out of the room in bare feet to see where the girl had gone.

As she had said earlier she was walking out of the kitchen to the small adjacent room that was filled with a very low table and comfy pillows to sit on. She looked up at him and smiled as she poured the steaming water from the tin kettle into a traditional cast iron tea pot and hid the tin one in a cabinet where a warmer was waiting.

"Would you like some tea, Master Kurama?" she asked politely, nodding her head to him.

"Ah, yes please," Kurama replied, nodding his head to her and chose a pillow and sat down, his legs crossed.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No, I just don't sleep for long."

"Oh. I wonder how long it will be before Lady Narue wakes up… or Lord Hiei for that matter," she suddenly wondered out loud, surprising Kurama.

"I don't really know," he replied "what exactly is your name?"

She looked over, tucking a strand of hair behind an ear.

"My name is Mana, I work for Lady Narue," the maid, now revealed to be called Mana, replied sweetly and for the Kurama noticed that sitting next to the girl was a long ivory pole. At each end were ornate silver caps that were kept perpetually polished until they seemed to nearly glow.

"Do you fight with a rod?" Kurama asked as poured steaming tea into two delicate tea cups.

"Yes, Lady Narue taught me how to fight when I came here," Mana replied, handing over to him the cup which he took gratefully and blew some steam off.

"Why?"

"Because I believe that if you can't fight you're not fit to housekeep," Narue's voice answered, making Kurama start and look over while Mana just smiled calmly as ever and walked to her employer, holding out a teacup.

"Here's your tea, Lady Narue. Pleasure to meet you Master Kurama," Mana replied, nodding as she excused herself.

Kurama watched as Narue maneuvered her heavily bandaged hands around the delicate cup and sat down across from him. Just faintly in the pale light coming from the only window he could see the rust stains on the bandages from old blood.

"I have to admit, Mana does make a decent tea," Narue murmured, staring at her hands and as she placed the cup down she began to unravel the thick cloth off, wincing as it got closer to her hands until the stained bandages were crumpled on the desk and she flexed her long fingers.

"Ah… yes she does…" Kurama replied trying not to look at her hands as she wiped them off on a thick sheet of linen that she procured from the cabinet that held the tin kettle. As she did, thick streaks of fresh blood ran across the cloth as she pulled them away and despite himself, Kurama found himself asking the question that had been on his mind for a while

"What happened to your hands?"

Narue looked over, tearing large strips of the linen off and winding two of the strips around her palms and tied them tightly, leaving the knot as it was.

"My hands? I was… careless," she replied carefully, picking up the tea again to drink though they began to shake slightly, just barely.

"It looks painful, are you sure you are alright?" Kurama asked, pouring himself a bit more tea and sighing. He had no clue why but a part of him was worried sick.

"Painful?" she thought about it for a moment, pressing her fingers to her lips for a moment and replied "Yes… but I am fine. I can stand much more pain than you'd guess."

"Oh…" Kurama found himself staring at the bottom of his empty cup and again sleepy.

"Forgive me for seeming rude, where'd you get that shirt?" Narue asked calmly, though Kurama could hear a slight tremble in her voice.

"Ah… Mana lent it to me," Kurama replied quickly and suddenly he thought of something. Why did a young girl like Narue, who lived alone, have men's clothing… unless she wore it… but it was so dusty…

"Hmm… should've guessed. Sorry, it must have seemed rude to suddenly ask that," she bowed her head in apology to him, taking another slow sip of tea.

"Don't apologize. I had no clue they meant anything to you," Kurama blurted out and then looked down, blushing slightly. He suddenly felt very stupid. OF COURSE they meant something. Why did she hold onto them otherwise?

"Stop worrying, no body wears them anymore so it's nice to see them getting some wear. I guess I should've gotten rid of them a while ago but I just couldn't bring myself to do it," she sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat and she traced one forefinger around the rim of the teacup.

"Well, if they mean something to you, nobody can really blame you for wanting to hold onto them," Kurama replied reasonable, fighting off another yawn.

"Nah. They belonged to my late husband… I think they look better on you. He was always uncomfortable in fancy clothes," Narue replied simply, "You look sleepy, you should head to bed. It's late."

Nodding his head, Kurama got up and meandered back to his room, slumping onto his bed and falling into a deep sleep.

Only seconds after the red head had wandered to his quarters did another person join Narue, quiet and hidden in the shadows, masked in the darkness of the night. A normal person would've continued on like nothing had happened…

"Come off it, ototou-san, you're not fooling me this time," Narue replied dryly, setting her cup down and looked over her shoulder as Hiei stepped out of the dark corner of the room, an odd little smirk on his face.

"Never could sneak up on you," he muttered, walking over to sit in front of her, eyeing the tea suspiciously with his crimson gaze.

"There's nothing in it, if that's what your wondering. You always were paranoid," Narue replied, nudging the pot over to him, but again he refused.

"Hn. I just don't care for the tea you make," Hiei retorted, leaning his arms on the tabletop.

"Oh… forgot that," she replied softly, "I've been forgetting more things lately… I guess I'm worried that I'll forget him."

At the depressed tone in her voice, Hiei looked over, surprised to see a rather defeated looking Narue. Her body was hunched up over the teacup, long arms crossed over her chest and yellow eyes staring at the table.

"You won't forget him," Hiei replied gruffly. He really wasn't that great at comforting another person…

"I know you're disappointed in me, ototou-san," she suddenly said, sighing right after, her shoulders slumping as though the world weighted on them.

"Why would I be?"

"Because I keep losing. There was a time when I inspired fear and awe in people. Now look at me, some washed up old warrior letting spirit detectives batter her around."

What was there to say? She had managed to voice exactly what had been on Hiei's mind since he had been reunited with her.

"Hn, then fight back. Even an idiot like Kuwabara knows that."

There was silence and then Narue replied rather quietly, "Maybe I don't want to fight back?"

"Hn, you're getting injured and even YOUR body can't take much more of that," Hiei replied darkly, staring at her with crimson eyes, the look on his face ever serious as always.

"I know how far I can push my body; after all, I've had mine longer than you've had yours," Narue quipped, not wanting to look him in the eye.

"…"

All the while, in his room, Kurama had finally fallen asleep…

-Tren: Wow. This came to a really slow ending! Sorry to all of you readers! The next chapters won't end as… anti-climatically I guess. Deepest apologies, and was there any OOC? I always worry about that! I'll do all the reader review next time, cheerio!


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